ATUARY  ..  [ALL 


:     v/. . ;, 


OF  REPRESENTATIVES 


IFTiON,  AND 


OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA 


'*     ATUE  OF 

DN.  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 


MARCH  12.  1910 


JJotpt  G 


ERECTED  IN  STATUARY  HALL 

OF  THE  CAPITOL  AT 

WASHINGTON 


PROCEEDINGS  IN  STATUARY  HALL  AND 
IN  THE  SENATE  AND  THE  HOUSE  OF 
REPRESENTATIVES  ON  THE  OCCASION 
OF  THE  UNVEILING.  RECEPTION,  AND 
ACCEPTANCE  OF  THE  STATUE  FROM 
THE  STATE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA 


COMPILED  UNDER  THE  DIRECTION  OF  THE 
JOINT  COMMITTEE  ON  PRINTING 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 
1910 


CONCURRENT  RESOLUTION. 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  (the  House  of  Representatives  concurring},  That 
there  be  printed  and  bound  the  proceedings  in  Congress,  together  with 
the  proceedings  at  the  unveiling  in  Statuary  Hall,  upon  the  acceptance 
of  the  statue  of  John  C.  Calhoun,  presented  by  the  State  of  South  Caro- 
lina, sixteen  thousand  five  hundred  copies,  of  which  five  thousand  shall  be 
for  the  use  of  the  Senate  and  ten  thousand  for  the  use  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  the  remaining  one  thousand  five  hundred  copies  shall 
be  for  the  use  and  distribution  of  the  Senators  and  Representatives  in 
Congress  from  the  State  of  South  Carolina. 

The  Joint  Committee  on  Printing  is  hereby  authorized  to  have  the  copy 
prepared  for  the  Public  Printer,  who  shall  procure  suitable  copper-process 
plates  to  be  bound  with  these  proceedings. 

Passed  March  24,   1910. 
2 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS 


Page 

Ceremonies  in  Statuary  Hall 7 

Prayer  by  Rev.  James  H.  Tavlor 7 

Address  by  Governor  M.  F.  Ansel 8 

Address  by  Hon.  W.  L.  Mauldin 1 1 

History  of  movement  for  erection  of  statue 19 

Proceedings  in  the  Senate 23 

Prayer  by  Rev.  Ulysses  G.  B.  Pierce 23 

Governor's  letter  of  presentation  of  statue 24 

Address  of  Mr.  Lodge,  of  Massachusetts .  .  .  .  : 27 

Address  of  Mr.  Smith,  of  South  Carolina 47 

Proceedings  in  the  House 57 

Address  of  Mr.  Johnson,  of  South  Carolina 59 

Address  of  Mr.  McCall,  of  Massachusetts 65 

Address  of  Mr.  Lever,  of  South  Carolina 75 

Address  of  Mr.  Ellerbe,  of  South  Carolina 85 

Address  of  Mr.  Lamb,  of  Virginia 89 

Address  of  Mr.  Aiken,  of  South  Carolina 99 

Address  of  Mr.  Finley,  of  South  Carolina 121 


206752* 


of 
of 
Joljn  (L  OIall|o«tt 


CEREMONIES    IN    STATUARY    HALL 

MARCH  12,  1910. 

The  exercises  took  place  at  n  o'clock  a.  m.,  and  were 
presided  over  by  Governor  M.  F.  Ansel,  of  South  Carolina. 

Prayer  by  Rev.  James  H.  Taylor,  Pastor  of   the    Central 
Presbyterian  Church,  Washington,  D.  C. 

O  God,  Our  Father  in  Heaven,  who  hast  so  greatly  blessed 
our  country  and  hast  preserved  our  land  and  institutions 
through  so  many  years,  we  thank  Thee  for  Thy  mercies  and 
offer  our  gratitude  for  Thy  providence.  We  thank  Thee 
for  the  men  who  have  borne  so  large  a  part  in  the  history  of 
our  nation,  these  choice  spirits  and  heroic  souls  who  have  put 
into  the  nation's  life  and  thought  ideals  of  truth  and  honor 
and  virtue  which  have  borne  fruit  a  hundredfold  to  succeeding 
generations.  We  thank  Thee  for  their  loyalty  to  truth,  their 
allegiance  to  conviction,  their  devotion  to  honor,  their  sacrifice 
for  the  public  good,  and  their  fidelity  to  public  service  and 
private  duty. 

As  we  review  the  lives  of  these  great  men,  may  there  come 
to  us  the  inspiration  of  their  example,  urging  us  to  give  to  the 
demands  of  our  country  the  very  best  of  service  and  honor 
and  love.  May  the  standards  for  which  they  strove  be  ours 
also,  and  may  we  never  count  ourselves  to  have  attained. 
May  the  fire  which  glowed  in  their  hearts  burn  in  ours  also,  and 
may  we  never  let  this  fire  go  out.  Help  us,  O  God,  to  serve 
our  nation  gladly,  to  love  our  land  sincerely,  and  to  honor 
Thee  supremely. 


8  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

As  we  contemplate  the  life  of  this  rare  man,  endowed  with 
most  unusual  gifts  of  mind  and  spirit,  who  towered  above 
his  fellows,  may  we  be  inspired  to  higher  ideals  and  nobler 
service.  We  thank  Thee  for  the  heritage  of  his  life,  for  the 
inspiration  of  his  service  to  the  state  and  to  the  people. 

May  the  image  of  this  man  cut  in  stone,  standing  in  full  view 
of  the  nation,  be  to  all  who  gaze  upon  it  an  invitation  to  a  life 
in  the  service  of  honor  and  duty.  May  the  invincible  spirit 
of  this  heroic  soul  kindle  in  us  a  like  power  and  heroism,  and 
may  he,  being  dead,  yet  speak  to  us  of  things  lovely  and  of 
good  report.  So  may  we,  when  life  is  finished,  leave  behind 
us,  as  he  has  done,  the  memory  of  faithful  service  and  an 
unsullied  name. 

All  our  thanks  we  offer  Thee  through  Christ  the  Lord. 
Amen. 

Address  of  Governor  M.  F.  Ansel 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  :  The  Congress  of  the  United  States 
in  the  year  1864  passed  an  act  which  has  been  embodied  in  the 
Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States  as  section  1814,  which 
reads  as  follows : 

The  President  is  authorized  to  invite  all  the  States  to  provide  and 
furnish  statues,  in  marble  or  bronze,  not  exceeding  two  in  number  for  each 
State,  of  deceased  .persons  who  have  been  citizens  thereof  and  illustrious 
for  their  historic  renown  or  for  distinguished  civic  or  military  services, 
such  as  each  State  may  deem  to  be  worthy  of  this  national  commemora- 
tion; and  when  so  furnished  the  same  shall  be  placed  in  the  old  Hall  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  in  the  Capitol  of  the  United  States,  which 
is  set  apart,  or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary,  as  a  national  Statuary 
Hall  for  the  purpose  herein  indicated. 

In  obedience  to  this  invitation  on  the  part  of  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  the  legislature  of  the  State  of  South 
Carolina  made  an  appropriation  for  the  purpose  of  having 
erected  a  statue  of  one  of  her  greatest  citizens  and  statesmen, 


Ceremonies   in  Statuary   Hall 


JOHN  C.  CALHOUN,  and  a  commission  was  appointed  to  carry 
out  the  purpose  of  the  appropriation.  A  commission,  consist- 
ing of  Hon.  W.  L.  Mauldin,  Hon.  J.  A.  Banks,  Mrs.  R.  Moultrie 
Bratton,  state  regent  of  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution, and  Miss  Maggie  A.  Gist,  keeper  of  the  records  of  King's 
Mountain  Chapter  of  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion, was  appointed  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  the  act  of 
the  legislature,  and  we  are  here  to-day  for  the  purpose  of 
unveiling  the  statue  and  of  presenting  it  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States  of  America. 

JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  was  one  of  the  greatest  men  this  country 
has  produced.  He  was  born  in  the  county  of  Abbeville,  in  the 
State  of  South  Carolina,  on  the  i8th  of  March,  1782,  and  died 
on  the  3ist  day  of  March,  1850.  He  was  of  Scotch-Irish 
descent,  and  was  twice  Vice- President  of  the  United  States. 
In  1811  he  was  elected  to  Congress  and  sat  m  the  very  hall  in 
which  we  are  now  standing,  where  his  voice  was  first  heard  in 
the  counsels  of  the  Nation.  It  is  a  coincidence  thaj:  the  statue 
of  him  now  stands  facing  that  of  one  of  his  colleagues  while  a 
member  of  the  United  States  Senate,  to  wit,  that  of  Daniel 
Webster,  of  Massachusetts.  CALHOUN,  Clay,  and  Webster  are 
three  of  the  great  lights  who  did  valiant  service  for  the  United 
States  of  America.  In  March,  1817,  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  became 
a  member  of  President  Monroe's  Cabinet,  having  been  appointed 
Secretary  of  War.  He  showed  great  ability  in  the  administra- 
tion of  that  department  of  the  Government,  which  at  that 
time  was  in  the  utmost  disorder.  In  1824  he  was  first  elected 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States  and  reelected  in  1828. 
He  resigned  as  Vice-President  and  was  elected  United  States 
Senator  from  the  State  of  South  Carolina.  He  declined  reelec- 
tion to  the  United  States  Senate  in  1843,  and  in  March,  1844, 
was  appointed  Secretary  of  State.  In  1845  he  was  again  in 


io  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

the  Senate  from  South  Carolina  and  there  remained  until  his 
death,  in  1850.  His  name  and  his  fame  are  world- wide  and  the 
great  work  he  did  for  this  Nation  is  known  to  all  readers  of 
history. 

It  is  fit  and  proper  that  a  statue  of  this  great  and  good 
man  should  adorn  Statuary  Hall,  and  I  am  proud  to  know  that 
the  State  of  South  Carolina  has  honored  herself  by  placing  this 
statue  within  these  walls.  It  is  not  my  purpose,  however,  to 
make  an  address  on  this  occasion. 

The  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution  in  South  Caro- 
lina have  taken  great  interest  in  the  erection  of  this  statue, 
and  honor  should  be  given  to  them  for  first  inaugurating  the 
movement  which  led  to  the  appropriation  being  made,  and 
they  have  worked  faithfully  until  the  present  day. 

It  is  now  my  great  pleasure  to  present  Mrs.  R.  Moultrie 
Bratton,  state  regent  of  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution of  South  Carolina,  and  Miss  Maggie  A.  Gist,  keeper  of 
the  records  ^of  King's  Mountain  Chapter,  to  whom  more  than 
any  one  else  credit  should  be  given  for  inaugurating  the  plans 
for  the  erection  of  this  statue  and  who  will  unveil  the  same. 


The  statue  of  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  was  then,  amid  great  ap- 
plause, unveiled  by  Mrs.  R.  Moultrie  Bratton  and  Miss  Maggie 
A.  Gist. 

After  the  unveiling  of  the  statue,  the  Governor,  in  a  few 
remarks,  introduced  the  Hon.  W.  L.  Mauldin,  of  South  Caro- 
lina, a  member  of  the  commission,  as  the  orator  of  the  day. 
Mr.  Mauldin  was  received  with  loud  applause  and  delivered  the 
following  address : 


Ceremonies   in  Statuary  Hall  n 

Address  of  Hon.   W.  L.  Mauldin 

Mr.  CHAIRMAN,  LADIES,  AND  GENTLEMEN:  The  accredited 
representatives  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina  stand  here  to-day, 
in  this  presence,  to  pay  a  long-deserved  and  well-merited  tribute 
to  her  great  Senator  and  illustrious  citizen.  The  magic  touch 
of  the  gifted  sculptor  has  transmuted  from  the  cold  and  silent 
marble  an  almost  speaking  image  of  his  great  subject.  It  is 
proper  to  say  that  the  culmination  of  this  statue  is  due  in  a 
large  measure  to  the  ardent  and  insistent  work  of  the  Daughters 
of  the  American  Revolution.  Their  patriotic  work  inspired  the 
purposes  of  their  countrymen.  JOHN  CALDWEIX  CALHOUN  was 
born  in  Abbeville  district,  South  Carolina,  March  18,  1782. 
After  receiving  the  best  advantages  possible  in  the  country 
schools  of  the  then  sparsely  settled  neighborhood,  he  entered 
Yale  College  and  graduated  therefrom  with  decided  merit. 
After  a  short  service  in  the  general  assembly  of  his  own  State, 
he  entered  the  lower  House  of  the  Federal  Congress  in  the  year 
1810;  two  years  later  he  was  found  at  the  head  of  the  impor- 
tant Committee  on  Foreign  Relations.  Serious  disagreements 
were  then  existing  with  Great  Britain  and  he  eagerly  espoused 
the  war  feeling  of  his  own  country.  He  introduced  a  resolu- 
tion declaring  war  against  the  mother  country  and  was  success- 
ful in  having  it  adopted.  The  satisfactory  result  of  the  war 
that  followed  added  renown  to  the  glory  of  our  land  and  estab- 
lished the  proper  rights  of  American  seamen  for  all  time.  In 
i  "8 1 7  he  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  Secretary 
of  War,  and  so  well  did  he  perform  the  responsible  obligations 
of  that  position  that  General  Bertrand,  a  distinguished  French 
officer  who  had  served  under  Napoleon,  likened  him,  in  his 
administrative  ability,  to  his  great  master.  In  1825  he  became 
Vice-President,  to  which  position  he  was  again  chosen  four 


12  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 


years  later.  Irreconcilable  differences  arose  between  himself 
and  President  Jefferson,  causing  him  to  resign,  whereupon  he 
was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate.  It  is  a  coincidence 
that  the  offices  of  President  and  Vice-President  should  have 
been  occupied  at  the  same  time  by  two  citizens  who  were  born 
on  the  soil  of  South  Carolina,  who  were  descended  from  the 
same  foundation  stock,  and  who  both  rendered  able  and  dis- 
tinguished services  to  their  common  country.  In  1843  he 
resigned  his  seat  in  the  Senate  and  sought  the  repose  of  a  quiet 
life,  but  in  1844  he  was  called  to  the  position  of  Secretary  of 
State,  where  his  great  ability  was  again  plainly  manifested. 
Again,  in  1846,  he  obeyed  the  call  of  his  State  and  was  returned 
to  the  Senate,  where  he  remained  until  his  death,  in  Washing- 
ton, on  March  29,  1850.  Thus  he  served  his  country  almost 
continuously  for  a  period  of  nearly  forty  years,  in  perhaps  the 
most  momentous  period  of  her  constructive  history.  The 
student  of  history  will  draw  valuable  lessons  from  Mr.  CAI,- 
HOUN'S  public  and  private  life.  His  life  was  marked  by  serious, 
sincere  convictions  of  his  public  responsibilities.  He  was  in  no 
sense  of  the  word  a  timeserver.  His  hold  upon  the  people  of 
his  own  State  was  not  obtained  by  personal  clamor  or  by  any 
ordinary  political  methods.  He  led  public  thought  by  logical 
appeals  to  reason  and  by  the  purity  and  honesty  of  his  pub- 
lic and  private  life.  In  all  his  public  acts  he  was  above 
reproach  and  no  whisper  of  improper  motives  or  selfish  ambition 
ever  touched  his  name  or  fame.  The  intensity  of  his  nature 
often  caused  misrepresentation,  and  by  many  who  thought,  or 
affected  to  think,  that  he  favored  a  dissolution,  of  the  Union, 
but  such  was  not  the  case.  He  was  an  ardent  lover  of  the  Union 
and  its  institutions,  only  pleading  in  his  manly  and  outspoken 
way  for  a  strict  observance  and  just  interpretation  of  the  con- 
stitutional and  binding  obligations  of  our  federal  compact.  His 


Ceremonies   in  Statuary  Hall  13 

whole  life  was  spent  in  the  service  of  his  country.  His  prophetic 
soul  was  alarmed  at  what  he  believed  was  the  coming  and  dire- 
ful aggressions  that  would  sorely  distress  the  South  he  loved  so 
well.  All  great  men  are  subjected  to  the  evil  forces  of  envy, 
jealousy,  and  misrepresentation.  Oftentimes  this  is  a  tribute 
which  is  unwittingly  paid  to  the  great,  the  pure,  and  the  just. 
Washington,  Jefferson,  Buchanan,  Lincoln,  and  McKinley  had 
a  like  experience.  Mr.  CALHOUN  was  plain  in  manner,  some 
thought  too  austere,  but  to  those  who  came  in  close  contact 
with  him  his  personality  was  most  charming  and  engaging.  He 
coveted  no  title  and  was  known  to  all  his  neighbors  and  friends 
as  "Mr.  CALHOUN."  The  South  has  been  criticised  with  being 
over  fond  of  titles,  and  perhaps  this  more  or  less  applies  and 
is  largely  for  home  use.  It  can  be  fairly  said  that  our  people 
in  the  South  have  not  so  far  acquired  the  mania  for  foreign  titles 
that  are  often  obtained  for  value  received  and  result  in  grievous 
disappointments.  Mr.  CALHOUN  represented  the  highest  aspira- 
tions of  his  people,  and  while  there  was  a  strong  and  respectable 
minority  in  his  own  State  that  differed  with  him  in  a  strict  in- 
terpretation of  the  sovereign  rights  of  the  States  there  were  none 
who  doubted  his  disinterested  motives  or  questioned  the  recti- 
tude of  his  conduct.  Mr.  CALHOUN 's  forbears  were  of  that  mili- 
tant Scotch  race  who  early  settled  in  upper  South  Carolina  and 
contributed  so  largely  to  the  cause  of  the  colonial  rebellion 
against  the  mother  country.  They  were  active  participators  in 
the  struggle  for  freedom,  and  while  the  colony  of  South  Carolina 
had  no  special  grievance  against  the  mother  country  she  lent  a 
willing  ear  to  the  far  cry  of  her  New  England  brethren  and  cast 
her  lot  with  those  not  so  well  favored.  Naturally  Mr.  CALHOUN 
inherited  the  love  for  freedom  and  the  rights  of  his  people.  He 
seemed  to  foresee,  with  almost  prophetic  vision,  the  danger  to 
the  special  institutions  of  the  South.  Slavery,  which  had 


14  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

proven  unprofitable,  was  gradually  being  abandoned  in  the 
Northern  States,  and  the  effort  to  abolish  it  throughout  the 
Union  was  being  fiercely  urged  by  an  intense  abolition  element. 
It  seems  plain  now,  after  the  lapse  of  many  years,  that  slavery 
must  disappear  as  an  institution.  The  result  of  a  mighty  and 
frightful  war  between  the  two  sections  settled  that  question 
for  all  time  to  come.  The  South  does  not  lament  it.  She  feels 
that  she  has  been  liberated  from  a  responsibility  that  was  vast 
and  heavy.  Slavery  was  established  in  this  country  through 
the  greed  of  the  English  Kings,  supplemented  by  the  shipowners 
of  our  own  land.  Perhaps  now  the  thoughtful  people  of  our 
own  country  can  read  in  the  record  that  the  negro  was  brought 
to  this  land  through  the  instrumentality  of  an  all-wise  Provi- 
dence. The  South  has  a  great  problem  to  solve,  and  no  man 
can  now  foresee  the  issue.  Slavery  was  largely  a  measure  of 
involuntary  servitude,  and  the  relations  that  existed  between 
the  master  and  slave  were  greatly  of  a  patriarchal  nature,  and 
this  condition  humanized  and  fitted  the  negro  for  duties  which 
he  is  to  assume  in  later  life.  The  act  of  Congress  which  imme- 
diately after  the  manumission  of  the  negro  declared  him  com- 
petent to  perform  the  duties  of  an  American  citizen  was  a  con- 
scious or  unconscious  tribute  to  the  beneficial  influences  of  the 
institution  of  slavery  to  this  race  of  people. 

The  South  has  long  ago  accepted  fully  the  results  of  the 
war,  and  while  she  is  given  a  problem  to  solve,  greater  than 
has  been  given  to  any  people  in  all  modern  history,  she  accepts 
it  without  fear  and  is  not  dismayed.  She  realizes  that  great 
people  are  alone  given  great  issues  to  decide.  The  negro 
having  been  faithful-  to  his  owners  during  the  civil  war,  will 
be  treated  by  them  in  a  humane  and  Christian  way,  and  every 
opportunity  will  be  given  them  to  improve  their  human  con- 
dition. It  is  realized  that  the  two  races  can  not  be  made 


Ceremonies  in  Statuary  Hall  15 

socially  or  politically  equal  in  this  country,  and  the  highest 
thought  of  Southern  people  will  be  directed  to  the  effort  to 
preserve  the  purity  and  superiority  of  the  white  race.  Mr. 
CALHOUN'S  character  and  life  work  for  his  country  will  stand 
forth  with  greater  sublimity  the  more  closely  it  is  scrutinized. 
The  Scotch  race,  from  which  he  sprang,  has  contributed  most 
greatly  to  the  history  of  this  country.  Their  intelligence, 
activity,  and  aggression  has  made  itself  evident  in  every  land 
and  in  every  clime.  They  are  tenacious  of  their  opinions  and 
lovers  of  personal  liberty.  Andrew  Jackson  and  JOHN  C. 
CALHOUN  were  both  descended  from  this  race  of  people.  Alike 
in  many  characteristics,  yet  there  were  vast  differences  between 
the  two  men.  Jackson's  mind  had  very  little  intellectual  train- 
ing, and  it  was  but  natural  that  they  should  differ  as  to  the 
limitations  at  law.  Jackson  was  imperious  in  his  nature,  and 
did  not  have  that  apparent  regard  for  lawful  restrictions  that 
preeminently  characterized  Mr.  CALHOUN'S  nature.  They  were 
both  great  men,  and  both  rendered  at  nearly  the  same  time 
in  the  history  of  their  country  most  valuable  services.  It 
would  be  fair  to  say  that  during  the  time  of  Mr.  CALHOUN'S 
political  control  of  his  State  that  there  was  a  large  and  intelli- 
gent element  that  opposed  his  doctrines.  In  the  early  his- 
tory of  his  State  a  large  colony  of  Irish  Quakers  attracted  by 
the  salubrity  of  the  climate  and  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  estab- 
lished themselves  near  Newberry,  S.  C.  There  they  grew  and 
prospered  greatly,  but  gradually  becoming  dissatisfied  with 
the  institution  of  slavery,  they  finally  disposed  of  their  pos- 
sessions and  moved  to  Ohio.  A  few  families  remained.  There 
was  born  from  one  of  these  families,  shortly  after  Mr.  CAL- 
HOUN'S birth,  a  child  who  was  named  John  Belton  O'Neall, 
who  afterwards  became  the  distinguished  chief  justice  of  the 
State.  Judge  O'Neall  was  perhaps  the  greatest  law  judge 


16  Statue   of   Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

the  State  ever  had,  and  was  regarded  everywhere  for  his  great 
learning  and  high  character.  He  was  an  ardent  Union  man 
and  differed  with  Mr.  CALHOUN  in  politics  all  his  life,  but  yet 
in  that  most  valuable  book,  O'Neall's  Bench  and  Bar,  which 
he  contributed  to  the  history  of  his  State,  he  pays  the  highest 
testimonial  to  Mr.  CALHOUN,  after  his  death.  Judge  O'Neall 
was  an  ardent  lover  of  his  State  and  cherished  her  sovereign 
rights,  but  in  my  opinion  would  have  been  willing  to  give  up 
his  slaves  rather  than  see  the  Union  dissolved.  While  owning 
a  large  number  of  slaves  he  had  conscientious  scruples  as  to 
the  rightfulness  and  righteousness  of  slavery,  and  regarded 
them  more  in  a  condition  of  servitude  than  of  absolute  slavery. 
In  an  address  that  Judge  O'Neall  delivered  after  Mr.  CAL- 
HOUN's  death,  he  said  he — 

could  almost  behold  the  great  leader  of  South  Carolina,  in  all  her  political 
warfare,  holding  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  high  above  his 
head,  point  to  its  violated  pages,  and  hear  him  in  indignant  honesty  speak 
a  people's  wrongs  with  all  the  brilliancy  and  clearness  of  Fox,  and  the 
deep  and  graceful  reasoning  of  Burke.  Honesty,  morality,  genius,  love  of 
country,  and  devoted  service  for  forty  years  entitle  him  to  the  universal 
love  of  his  countrymen.  The  deference  which  men  of  all  classes  pay  to 
great  abilities  and  incorruptible  integrity  is  a  tribute  due  to  a  sense  of  the 
immortality  of  the  soul  and  to  the  eminent  superiority  of  virtue.  Envy, 
itself,  which  always  accompanies  the  steps  of  the  good  man  and  detracts 
from  his  fame  and  misconstrues  his  motives,  worn  out  in  the  contest, 
perishes  on  his  grave. 

The  work  of  this  commission  is  accomplished.  In  honoring 
Calhoun's  memory  the  State  feels  that  she  has  honored  herself, 
and  that  she  has  also  honored  this  Union  of  coequal  States. 
On  another  occasion  abler  voices  will  speak  of  Mr.  Calhoun's 
wonderful  work  and  of, his  patriotic  services  to  our  common 
country.  Across  this  hall  stands  also  the  effigy  of  the  mighty 
Webster,  of  Massachusetts.  In  life  they  faced  each  other  in 


Ceremonies  in  Statuary  Hall  17 

many  intellectual  combats  with  equal  respect  and  regard  for 
each  other.  Their  lives  and  services  are  carved  in  the  history 
of  their  country,  and  are  alike  imperishable.  Their  names 
and  fame  belong  to  history,  and  is  a  valuable  heritage  of  an 
imperishable  union  of  imperishable  States. 

After  the  address  delivered  by  Mr.  Mauldin,  the  Governor 
arose  and  thanked  the  very  large  and  intelligent  audience, 
which  was  composed  of  many  United  States  Senators,  Members 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  Secretary  of  War,  repre- 
sentatives of  the  National  Daughters  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution, and  many  other  distinguished  persons,  for  honoring  the 
State  by  their  presence  on  this  occasion.  He  stated  that  it 
was  his  pleasure  to  announce  that  two  of  the  grandsons  of 
JOHN  C.  CALHOUN,  to  wit,  Mr.  John  C.  Calhoun,  of  New  York, 
and  Mr.  Patrick  Calhoun,  of  California,  were  present,  as  well 
as  six  of  the  great  grandchildren  and  many  other  relatives  of 
this  great  man. 

They  were  all  invited  to  attend  the  exercises  of  acceptance 
of  the  statue  by  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  and  by  the 
House  of  Representatives.  This  ended  the  exercises  on  the 
part  of  the  State. 

43796° 10 2 


HISTORY  OF  MOVEMENT  FOR  ERECTION  OF 
THE  STATUE 

j< 

At  the  January  meeting,  1906,  of  the  Kings  Mountain  Chapter 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution,  Yorkville,  S.  C.,  Miss 
Margaret  A.  Gist,  historian  of  the  chapter,  proposed  that  this 
chapter  should  inaugurate  a  movement  in  the  State  to  secure 
the  placing  of  the  statute  of  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  in  the  Statuary 
Hall  of  the  Capitol  at  Washington.  The  chapter  unanimously 
and  enthusiastically  agreed  to  undertake  the  work.  Plans  were 
formulated  and  the  work  was  begun  immediately.  The  Daugh- 
ters gave  freely  of  their  means,  time,  and  ability.  The  success 
of  the  work,  and  the  splendid  executive  ability  of  the  regent, 
Mrs.  W.  B.  Moore,  was  a  large  factor  in  its  accomplishment. 

Hon.  J.  Steele  Brice,  State  senator  from  York  County,  and 
Hon.  J.  H.  Saye  gave  the  Daughters  their  cordial  cooperation 
and  warm  words  of  encouragement.  Gov.  D.  C.  Heyward  urged 
the  legislature,  in  his  last  message,  to  make  the  appropriation 
asked  for,  and  Governor-elect  Ansel  also  strongly  recommended 
it  in  his  inaugural  address.  The  bill  was  introduced  in  the 
'house  of  1907  by  Hon.  J.  H.  Saye,  representative  from  York 
County.  It  was  passed  without  a  dissenting  vote.  Senator 
Brice  introduced  it  in  the  senate,  and  it  was  there  passed  unani- 
mously. Great  credit  should  be  given  to  these  gentlemen  for 
the  successful  passage  of  the  bill  through  the  general  assembly. 
In  appointing  the  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  Statue  Commission, 
Governor  Ansel  recognized  the  work  of  the  Daughters  of  the 

19 


20  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

American  Revolution  by  appointing  two  of  them — Miss  Margaret 
A.  Gist,  historian  of  Kings  Mountain  Chapter,  and  Mrs.  R. 
Moultrie  Bratton,  State  regent  of  the  Daughters  of  the  American 
Revolution  of  South  Carolina,  members  of  the  commission. 
This  is  the  first  time  a  woman  was  ever  placed  on  a  commission 
by  the  State  of  South  Carolina.  It  is  but  just  to  state  that 
the  Daughters  could  not  have  successfully  carried  through  the 
work  without  the  cooperation  of  the  United  Daughters  of  the 
Confederacy  organization  and  that  of  the  womens  clubs  of  South 
Carolina. 


An* pianr?  of 
of 
ffl. 


PROCEEDINGS    IN   THE   SENATE 

JANUARY  12,  1910. 

Mr.  TILLMAN.  I  submit  a  concurrent  resolution,  and  ask 
that  it  be  read  and  lie  on  the  table  subject  to  call. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  concurrent  resolution  will  be 
read. 

The  Secretary  read  the  concurrent  resolution  (S.  C.  Res.  20), 
as  follows : 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  (the  House  of  Representatives  concurring},  That 
the  statue  of  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN,  presented  by  the  State  of  South  Carolina, 
to  be  placed  in  Statuary  Hall,  is  accepted  in  the  name  of  the  United  States, 
and  that  the  thanks  of  Congress  be  tendered  to  the  State  for  the  contribu- 
tion of  the  statue  of  one  of  its  most  eminent  citizens,  illustrious  for  the 
purity  of  his  life  and  his  distinguished  services  to  the  State  and  Nation 

Second.  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions,  suitably  engrossed  and  duly 
authenticated,  be  transmitted  to  the  governor  of  the  State  of  South 
Carolina. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  concurrent  resolution  will 
lie  on  the  table,  subject  to  call,  at  the  request  of  the  Senator 
from  South  Carolina. 

MARCH  12,  1910. 

The  Chaplain,  Rev.  Ulysses  G.  B.  Pierce,  D.  D.,  offered  the 
following  prayer: 

Glory,  honor,  and  praise  we  render  unto  Thee,  Our  Father, 
for  all  Thy  wondrous  works  toward  the  children  of  men.  We 
thank  Thee  that  Thou  hast  so  loved  us  that  Thou  hast  provided 
that  Thy  spirit  of  wisdom  shall  in  all  ages  enter  into  faithful 
souls,  making  them  Thy  friends  and  leaders  of  the  people. 
Grant,  Our  Father,  that  the  memory  of  such  may  be  ever  in  the 

23 


24  Statue  of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

imagination,  the  thoughts,  and  the  hearts  of  this  people,  Chat 
we  may  incline  our  minds  unto  Thee  and  keep  Thy  command- 
ments forever.  And  unto  Thee,  from  whom  cometh  all  glory, 
we  render  all  praise;  now  and  forever  more.  Amen. 

Mr.  SMITH,  of  South  Carolina.  Mr.  President,  I  beg  leave  to 
submit  to  the  Senate  the  communication  which  I  send  to  the 
desk. 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT.  The  Senator  from  South  Carolina 
presents  to  the  Senate  a  communication,  which  the  Secretary 
will  read. 

The  Secretary  read  the  communication  as  follows: 

STATE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA, 

EXECUTIVE  CHAMBER, 
Columbia,  March  12,  1910. 
To  the  Honorable  the  Senate  and  House  of . 

Representatives  of  the  United  States,  Washington,  D.  C.: 
It  gives  me  great  pleasure,  as  governor  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina, 
to  present  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  a  marble  statue  of  JOHN 
C.  CALHOUN,  a  native  of  South  Carolina,  and  one  whose  name  is  honored 
wherever  known. 

JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  was  one  of  the  greatest  men  that  this  country  has 
produced,  and  a  statesman  of  renown  who  has  left  his  impress  upon  this 
Nation,  and  whose  name  is  indelibly  inscribed  upon  the  pages  of  history, 
both  national  and  state. 

The  State  of  South  Carolina  begs  now  to  present  through  me,  as  her 
governor,  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  as  the  representative  of 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  this  beautiful  statue  of  a  great  and 
good  man. 

Respectfully,  M.'F.  ANSEL, 

Governor  of  South  Carolina. 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT.  The  communication  will  lie  on  the 
table. 

Mr.  SMITH  of  South  Carolina.  Mr.  President,  I  call  up,  in 
the  absence  of  my  colleague  [Mr.  Tillman],  who  is -detained 


Proceedings   in   the  Senate  25 

from  the  Senate  on  account  of  illness,  Senate  concurrent  reso- 
lution No.  20,  submitted  by  him  on  the  i2th  of  January,  and 
I  ask  for  its  adoption. 

The  concurrent  resolution  was  read,  considered  by  unani- 
mous consent,  and  agreed  to,  as  follows: 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  (the  House  of  Representatives  concurring),  That 
the  statue  of  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN,  presented  by  the  State  of  South  Carolina 
to  be  placed  in  Statuary  Hall,  is  accepted  in  the  name  of  the  United  States, 
and  that  the  thanks  of  Congress  be  tendered  to  the  State  for  the  contribu- 
tion of  the  statue  of  one  of  its  most  eminent  citizens,  illustrious  for  the 
purity  of  his  life  and  his  distinguished  services  to  the  State  and  Nation. 

Second.  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions,  suitably  engrossed  and  duly 
authenticated,  be  transmitted  to  the  governor  of  the  State  of  South 
Carolina. 


Address  of  Mr.  Lodge,  of  Massachusetts 
j* 

Mr.  PRESIDENT:  When  the  senior  Senator  from  South  Caro- 
lina [Mr.  Tillman],  whose  illness  we  all  deplore,  did  me  the  honor 
to  ask  me  to  take  part  in  the  ceremonies  connected  with  the 
reception  of  the  statue  of  Mr.  CALHOUN  I  was  very  much  gratified 
by  his  request.  In  the  years  which  preceded  the  civil  war 
South  Carolina  and  Massachusetts  represented  more  strongly, 
more  extremely,  perhaps,  than  any  other  States  the  opposing 
principles  which  were  then  in  conflict.  Now,  when  that  period 
has  drifted  back  into  the  quiet  waters  of  history  it  seems  par- 
ticularly appropriate  that  Massachusetts  should  share  in  the 
recognition  which  we  give  to-day  to  the  memory  of  the  great 
Senator  from  South  Carolina.  If  I  may  be  pardoned  a  personal 
word,  it  seems  also  fitting  that  I  should  have  the  privilege  of 
speaking  upon  this  occasion,  for  my  own  family  were  friends  and 
followers  in  successive  generations  of  Hamilton  and  Webster 
and  Sumner.  I  was  brought  up  in  the  doctrines  and  beliefs  of 
the  great  Federalist,  the  great  Whig,  and  the  great  Republican. 
It  seems  to  me,  I  repeat,  not  unfitting  that  one  so  brought  up 
should  have  the  opportunity  to  speak  here  when  we  commemo- 
rate the  distinguished  statesman  who,  during  the  last  twenty- 
five  years  of  his  life,  represented  with  unrivaled  ability  those 
theories  of  government  to  which  Hamilton,  Webster,  and 
Sumner  were  all  opposed. 

From  1787  to  1865  the  real  history  of  the  United  States  is  to 
be  found  in  the  struggle  between  the  forces  of  separatism  and 
those  of  nationalism.  Other  issues  and  other  questions  during 
that  period  rose  and  fell,  absorbed  the  attention  of  the  country, 

27 


28  Statue  of  Hon.  John  C.  Calhoun 

and  passed  out  of  sight,  but  the  conflict  between  the  nationalist 
spirit  and  the  separatist  spirit  never  ceased.  There  might  be 
a  lull  in  the  battle,  public  interest  might  turn,  as  it  frequently 
did,  to  other  questions,  but  the  deep-rooted,  underlying  contest 
was  always  there,  and  finally  took  possession  of  every  passion 
and  every  thought,  until  it  culminated  at  last  in  the  dread 
arbitrament  of  arms.  The  development  of  the  United  States 
as  a  nation,  in  contradistinction  to  a  league  of  states,  falls 
naturally  into  four  divisions.  The  first  is  covered  by  the 
administrations  of  Washington  and  Adams,  when  the  Govern- 
ment was  founded  by  Washington  and  organized  by  Hamilton, 
and  when  the  broad  lines  of  the  policies  by  which  its  conduct 
was  to  be  regulated  were  laid  down.  When  Washington  died, 
the  work  of  developing  the  national  power  passed  into  the  hands 
of  another  great  Virginian,  John  Marshall,  who,  in  the  cool 
retirement  of  the  Supreme  Court  for  thirty  years,  steadily  and 
surely,  but  almost  unnoticed  at  the  moment,  converted  the  Con- 
stitution from  an  experiment  in  government,  tottering  upon  the 
edge  of  the  precipice  which  had  engulfed  the  Confederation, 
into  the  charter  of  a  nation.  While  he  was  engaged  upon  this 
work,  to  which  he  brought  not  only  the  genius  of  the  lawyer  and 
the  jurist,  but  of  the  statesman  as  well,  another  movement  went 
on  outside  the  court  room,  which  stimulated  the  national  life  to 
a  degree  only  realized  in  after  years,  when  men  began  to  study 
the  history  of  the  time. 

By  the  Revolution  we  had  separated  ourselves  from  England 
and  established  nominally  our  political  independence.  But  that 
political  independence  was  only  nominal.  The  colonial  spirit 
still  prevailed.  During  the  two  hundred  years  of  colonial  life 
our  fortunes  had  been  determined  by  events  in  Europe.  It  was 
no  mere  metaphor  which  Pitt  employed  when  he  said  he  would 
"conquer  America  upon  the  plains  of  Germany,"  and  the  idea 


Address  of  Mr.  Lodge,  of  Massachusetts      29 

embodied  in  the  words  of  the  Great  Commoner  clung  to  us  even 
after  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  for  habits  of  thought,  im- 
palpable as  air,  are  very  slow  to  change.  The  colonial  spirit  re- 
sisted Washington's  neutrality  policy  when  the  French  Revolu- 
tion broke  out,  and  as  the  years  passed  was  still  strong  enough 
to  hamper  all  our  movements  and  force  us  to  drift  helplessly 
upon  the  stormy  seas  of  the  Napoleonic  wars.  The  result  was 
that  we  were,  treated  by  France  on  one  side  and  by  England  on 
the  other  in  a  manner  which  fills  an  American's  heart  with  indig- 
nation and  with  shame  even  to  read  of  it  a  hundred  years  after- 
wards. And  then  in  those  days  of  humiliation  there  arose  a 
group  of  young  men,  chiefly  from  the  South  and  West,  who  made 
up  their  minds  that  this  condition  was  unbearable;  that  they 
would  assert  the  independence  of  the  United  States;  that  they 
would  secure  to  her  due  recognition  among  the  nations;  and 
that  rather  than  have  the  shameful  conditions  which  then  ex- 
isted continue  they  would  fight.  They  did  not  care  much  with 
whom  they  fought,  but  they  intended  to  vindicate  the  right  of 
the  United  States  to  live  as  a  respected  and  self-respecting  in- 
dependent nation.  Animated  by  this  spirit,  they  plunged  the 
country  into  war  with  England. 

They  did  not  stop  to  make  proper  preparations;  their  legis- 
lation was  often  as  violent  as  it  was  ineffective;  the  war  was 
not  a  success  on  land,  and  was  redeemed  only  by  the  victory 
at  New  Orleans  and  by  the  brilliant  fighting  of  our  little  navy. 
On  the  face  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent  it  did  not  appear  that  we 
had  gained  a  single  one  of  the  points  for  which  we  went  to  war, 
and  yet  the  war  party  had  really  achieved  a  complete  triumph. 
Through  their  determination  to  fight  at  any  cost  we  were  recog- 
nized at  last  as  an  independent  nation,  and,  what  was  far  more 
important,  we  had  forever  destroyed  the  colonial  idea  that  the 
politics  and  the  peace  of  the  United  States  were  to  veer  hither 


30  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

and  thither  at  the  bidding  of  every  breeze  which  blew  from 
Europe.  Such  work  could  not  have  been  done  without  a  vigor- 
ous growth  of  the  national  spirit  and  of  the  national  power, 
and  the  group  of  brilliant  men  who  brought  on  the  war  were 
entirely  conscious  that  in  carrying  out  their  policy  they  were 
stimulating  the  national — the  American — spirit  to  which  they 
appealed.  Chief  among  the  leaders  of  that  group  of  young 
men  who  were  responsible  for  the  origin  and  conduct  of  the 
war  of  1812  was  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

As  the  war,  with  its  influences  and  results,  sank  back  into 
the  past,  domestic  questions  took  possession  of  the  field,  and  the 
conflict  between  the  separatist  and  national  forces  which  had 
been  temporarily  obscured  forged  again  to  the  front,  but  under 
deeply  altered  conditions.  When  John  Marshall  died  in  1835, 
his  great  work  done,  the  cause  which  he  had  so  long  sustained 
had  already  entered  upon  its  third  period — the  period  of  debate — 
and  the  task  which  had  fallen  from  the  failing  hands  of  the  great 
Chief  Justice  was  taken  up  in  another  field  by  Daniel  Webster, 
who  for  twenty  years  stood  forth  as  the  champion  of  the  propo- 
sition not  that  the  Constitution  could  make  a  nation,  but  that, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  had  made  a  nation.  Against,  him  was 
CALHOUN,  and  between  the  two  was  Henry  Clay.  The  twenty 
years  of  debate  which  then  ensued  are  known  familiarly  as  the 
days  of  Clay,  Webster,  and  CALHOUN.  The  names  of  the  Presi- 
dents who  occupied  the  White  House  during  most  of  that  time 
have  faded,  and  the  era  of  debate  in  the  history  of  the  parlia- 
mentary struggle  between  the  national  and  the  separatist  prin- 
ciples is  not  associated  with  them  but  with  the  great  Senators 
who  made  it  illustrious.  As  the  century  passed  its  zenith  all 
three  died,  closely  associated  in  death  as  they  had  been  in 
life.  The  compromise  which  Clay  and  Webster  defended  and 
of  which  CALHOUN  despaired  was  quickly  wrecked  in  the  years 


Address  of  Mr.  Lodge,  of  Massachusetts     31 

which  followed,  and  then  came  war  and  the  completion  of  the 
work  begun  by  Washington,  through  the  life  and  death  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  and  the  sacrifices  and  the  tragedy  of  four 
years  of  civil  war. 

To  have  been,  as  CALHOUN  was,  for  forty  years  a  chief  figure 
in  that  period  of  conflict  and  development — first  a  leader  among 
the  able  men  who  asserted  the  reality  of  the  national  inde- 
pendence and  established  the  place  of  the  United  States  among 
the  nations  of  the  earth,  and  afterwards  the  undisputed  chief  of 
those  who  barred  the  path  of  the  national  movement — implies  a 
man  of  extraordinary  powers  both  of  mind  and  character.  He 
merits  not  only  the  high  consideration  which  history  accords,  but 
it  is  also  well  that  we  should  honor  his  memory  here,  and,  turn- 
ing aside  from  affairs  of  the  moment,  should  recall  him  and  his 
work  that  we  may  understand  what  he  was  and  what  he  meant. 
He  was  preeminently  a  strong  man,  and  strong  men,  leaders  of 
mankind,  who  shape  public  thought  and  decide  public  action  are 
very  apt  to  exhibit  in  a  high  degree  the  qualities  of  the  race 
from  which  they  spring.  CALHOUN  came  of  a  vigorous  race 
and  displayed  the  attributes,  both  moral  and  intellectual,  which 
mark  that  race,  with  unusual  vividness  and  force.  On  both 
sides  he  was  of  Scotch  descent.  His  name  is  a  variant  of  the 
distinguished  Scotch  name  Colquhoun.  It  was  a  place  name, 
assumed  at  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century,  when  they 
came  into  possession  of  certain  lands,  by  the  noble  family  which 
was  destined  to  bear  it  for  many  generations.  Judged  by  the 
history  of  the  knights  who  in  long  succession  held  the  estates 
and  the  title,  the  Colquhouns  or  Calhouns,  who  spread  and  mul- 
tiplied until  they  became  a  clan,  were  a  very  strong,  very  able, 
very  tenacious  stock.  They  had  great  need  of  all  these  qualities 
in  order  to  maintain  themselves  in  power,  property,  and  position 
during  the  five  hundred  years  which  elapsed  before  the  first 


32  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

Calhoun  and  the  first  Caldwell  started  on  the  migration  which, 
after  a  brief  pause  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  carried  Patrick  Cal- 
houn and  some  of  the  Caldwells  over  the  ocean  to  South  Carolina. 
Both  families  were  typical  of  their  race,  for  the  Colquhouns  are 
spoken  of  as  a  Gaelic  clan,  while  the  Caldwells  were  Lowlanders 
from  the  Solway.  In  order  to  understand  these  types  we  must 
go  back  for  a  moment  into  those  dim,  almost  uncharted,  regions 
of  history  which  disclose  to  us  the  tribes  of  the  Germanic  forests 
pouring  down  upon  the  wreck  of  the  Roman  Empire.  When 
the  successive  waves  of  Teutonic  invasion  broke  upon  Britain 
they  swept  up  to  the  mountains  of  the  North,  driving  the  native 
Picts  and  Scots  before  them,  and  no  part  of  their  conquest  was 
more  thoroughly  Danish  and  Saxon  than  the  lowlands  of  Scot- 
land. But  the  Highlander,  who  represented  the  survival  of  the 
Celts,  and  the  Lowlander,  who  represented  the  invaders,  were 
quickly  welded  together  in  a  common  hostility  to  their  great  and 
grasping  neighbor  of  the  South.  The  Celtic  blood  mingled  with 
that  of  the  descendants  of  the  Teutonic  tribes.  They  quarreled, 
they  fought  side  by  side,  they  intermarried ;  they  modified  each 
other  and  gradually  adopted  each  other's  customs  and  habits 
of  thought.  We  have  but  to  read  "Rob  Roy"  to  learn  that 
although  the  Highlander  looked  down  upon  the  Lowlander  as  a 
trader  and  shopkeeper,  and  the  Lowlander  regarded  the  High- 
lander as  wild  and  barbarous,  the  ties  of  blood  and  common 
suffering  were  strong  between  them  <and  that  they  were  all 
Scotchmen.  It  is  a  remarkable  history,  that  of  Scotland,  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  in  the  annals  of  men.  Shut  up  in 
that  narrow  region  of  mountain  and  of  lake,  a  land  of  storm 
and  cold  and  mist,  with  no  natural  resources  except  a  meager 
soil  and  a  tempestuous  sea  to  yield  a  hard-earned  living;  poor 
in  this  world's  goods,  few  in  number,  for  six  hundred  years 
these  hardy  people  maintained  their  independence  against  their 


Address  of  Mr.  Lodge,  of  Massachusetts      33 

powerful  foe  to  the  southward  and  only  united  with  him  at  last 
upon  equal  terms.  For  six  hundred  years  they  kept  their  place 
among  the  nations,  were  the  allies  of  France,  were  distinguished 
for  their  military  virtues  on  the  Continent  of  Europe,  and  cher- 
ished a  pride  of  race  and  country  to  which  their  deeds  gave 
them  an  unclouded  title.  They  did  all  these  things,  this  little 
people,  by  hard  fighting.  For  six  hundred  years  they,  fought, 
sometimes  in  armies,  sometimes  in  bands,  always  along  the 
border,  frequently  among  themselves.  It  was  a  terrible  training. 
It  did  not  tend  to  promote  the  amenities  of  life,  but  it  gave 
slight  chance  of  survival  to  the  timid  or  the  weak.  It  pro- 
duced the  men  who  fell  with  their  King  at  Flodden.  They  could 
die  there  where  they  stood  beneath  the  royal  standard,  but  they 
could  not  be  conquered. 

Those  six  centuries  of  bitter  struggle  for  life  and  independ- 
ence, waged  continuously  against  nature  and  man,  not  only 
made  the  Scotch  formidable  in  battle,  renowned  in  every  camp 
in  Europe,  but  they  developed  qualities  of  mind  and  character 
which  became  inseparable  from  the  race.  For  it  was  not 
merely  by  changing  blows  that  the  Scotch  maintained  their 
national  existence.  Under  the  stress  of  all  these  centuries  of 
trial  they  learned  to  be  patient  and  persistent,  with  a  fixity  of 
purpose  which  never  weakened,  a  tenacity  which  never  slack- 
ened, and  a  determination  which  never  wavered.  The  Scotch 
intellect,  passing  through  the  same  severe  ordeal,  as  it  was 
quickened,  tempered,  and  sharpened,  so  it  acquired  a  certain 
relentlessness  in  reasoning  which  it  never  lost.  It  emerged  at 
last  complete,  vigorous,  acute,  and  penetrating.  With  all  these 
strong  qualities  of  mind  and  character  was  joined  an  intensity 
of  conviction  which  burned  beneath  the  cool  and  calculating 
manner  and  of  which  the  stern  and  unmoved  exterior  gave  no 
sign,  like  the  fire  of  a  furnace,  rarely  flaming,  but  giving  forth 

43796° — 10 3 


34  Statue  of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

a  fierce  and  lasting  heat.  To  this  somewhat  rare  combination 
we  owe  the  proverbial  phrase  of  the  "perfervidum  ingenium 
Scotorum,"  an  attribute  little  to  be  expected  in  a  people  so 
outwardly  calm  and  self-contained.  To  them,  in  the  struggle 
of  life,  could  be  applied  the  words  in  which  Macaulay  described 
Cromwell's  army:  "They  marched  to  victory  with  the  precision 
of  machines,  while  burning  with  the  wildest  fanaticism  of  Cru- 
saders." After  the  union,  under  Queen  Anne,  peace  came 
gradually  to  the  long-distracted  land,  broken  only  by  the 
Jacobite  risings  of  1715  and  1745,  and  then  the  Scotch  intellect 
found  its  opportunity  and  began  to  flower.  In  the  latter  part 
of  the  eighteenth  and  the  first  part  of  the  nineteenth  century 
Scotland  gave  to  poetry  Scott  and  Burns  and  Campbell;  to 
history  Hume  and  Robertson;  to  metaphysics  Hamilton,  Reid, 
and  Stuart;  to  fiction  Smollet  and  the  "Author  of  Waverly;" 
to  political  economy  Adam  Smith ;  and  these  are  only  the  great- 
est luminaries  in  a  firmament  of  stars.  Edinburgh  became  one  of 
the  intellectual  centers  of  western  civilization,  and  the  genius 
of  Scotland  was  made  famous  in  every  field  of  thought  and 
imagination.  It  was  just  at  this  time  that  JOHN  CALDWELL 
CALHOUN  came  upon  the  stage,  for  the  Scotch  intellect,  trained 
and  disciplined  through  the  darkness  and  the  conflicts  of  six 
hundred  years,  blossomed  in  the  New  World  as  in  the  Old 
when  once  the  long  pressure  was  removed,  when  the  sword 
needed  no  longer  to  be  kept  always  unsheathed  and  men  could 
sleep  without  the  haunting  fear  that  they  might  be  awakened 
at  any  moment  by  the  light  of  burning  homesteads  and  the 
hoarse  shouts  of  raiders  from  over  the  border  whose  path  was 
ever  marked  by  desolation  and  bloodshed. 

In  the  inadequate  description  which  I  have  attempted  of  the 
Scotch  character  and  intellect,  slowly  forged  and  welded  and 
shaped  by  many  stern,  hard-fighting  generations,  I  think  I  have 


Address  of  Mr.  Lodge,  of  Massachusetts     35 

set  forth  the  mental  and  moral  qualities  of  Mr.  CALHOUN.  He 
had  an  intellect  of  great  strength,  a  keen  and  penetrating  mind; 
he  thought  deeply  and  he  thought  clearly;  he  was  relentless  in 
reasoning  and  logic;  he  never  retreated  from  a  conclusion  to 
which  his  reasoning  led.  And  with  all  this  he  had  the  charac- 
teristic quality  of  his  race,  the  "perfervidum  ingenium,"  the 
intensity  of  conviction  which  burned  undimmed  until  his  heart 
ceased  to  beat.  Thus  endowed  by  nature  and  equipped  with 
as  good  an  education  as  could  then  be  obtained  in  the  United 
States,  Mr.  CALHOUN  entered  public  life  at  the  moment  when 
the  American  people  were  smarting  under  the  insults  and 
humiliations  heaped  upon  them  by  France  and  England,  and 
were  groping  about  for  some  issue  from  their  troubles  and  some 
vindication  of  the  national  honor  and  independence.  CALHOUN 
and  his  friends,  men  like  Henry  Clay,  and  like  Lowndes  and 
Cheves,  from  his  own  State,  came  in  on  the  wave  of  popular 
revolt  against  the  conditions  to  which  the  country  had  been 
brought.  Wavering  diplomacy,  gunboats  on  wheels,  and  even 
embargoes,  which  chiefly  punished  our  own  commerce,  had 
ceased  to  appeal  to  them.  They  had  the  great  advantage  of 
knowing  what  they  meant  to  do.  They  were  determined  to 
resist.  If  necessary,  they  intended  to  fight. 

They  dragged  their  party,  their  reluctant  President,  and  their 
divided  country  helplessly  after  them.  The  result  was  the 
war  of  1 8 1 2 .  With  war  came  not  only  the  appeal  to  the  national 
spirit,  which  was  only  just  waking  into  life,  but  the  measures 
without  which  war  can  not  be  carried  on.  The  party  which 
had  opposed  military  and  naval  forces,  public  debts,  tariffs, 
banks,  and  a  strong  central  government  now  found  themselves 
raising  armies,  equipping  and  building  a  navy,  borrowing  money, 
imposing  high  import  duties,  sustaining  the  bank,  and  develop- 
ing in  all  directions  the  powers  of  the  Government  of  the  United 


36  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

States.  The  doctrines  of  strict  construction,  which  had  been 
the  idols  of  the  ruling  party,  looked  far  less  attractive  when 
invoked  by  New  England  against  their  own  policies,  and  the 
Constitution,  which  Jefferson  set  aside,  as  he  thought,  to  acquire 
Louisiana,  became  most  elastic  in  the  hands  of  those  who  had 
sought  to  draw  its  bands  so  tightly  that  the  infant  nation 
could  hardly  move  its  limbs.  Mr.  CALHOUN,  with  his  mind  set 
on  the  accomplishment  of  the  great  purpose  of  freeing  the 
United  States  from  foreign  aggression,  and  thus  lifting  it  to  its 
rightful  place  among  the  nations  of  the  earth,  did  not  shrink 
from  the  conclusions  to  which  his  purpose  led.  His  mind  was 
too  clear  and  too  rigidly  logical  to  palter  with  or  seek  to  veil 
the  inevitable  results  of  the  policy  he  supported.  As  he  wished 
the  end,  he  was  too  virile,  too  honest  in  his  mental  processes, 
not  to  wish  the  means  to  that  end.  The  war  left  a  legacy  of 
debts  and  bankruptcy,  and  in  dealing  with  these  problems  it 
was  CALHOUN  who  reported  the  bill  for  a  new  bank  of  the  United 
States,  who  sustained  the  tariff  of  1816,  defended  the  policy 
of  protection  to  manufactures,  and  advocated  a  comprehen- 
sive scheme  of  internal  improvements. 

Then  it  was  that  he  declared  in  the  House  on  the  3ist  of 
January,  1816,  when  he  reported  the  bill  setting  aside  certain 
funds  for  internal  improvements,  after  urging  an  increase  of 
the  army,  that — 

As  to  the  species  of  preparation  *  *  *  the  navy  most  certainly, 
in  any  point  of  view,  occupies  the  first  place.  It  is  the  most  safe,  most 
effectual,  and  cheapest  mode  of  defense. 

In  1814  (Annals  of  Congress,  p.  1965)  he  said  in  regard  to 
manufactures  that — 

He  hoped  at  all  times  and  under  every  policy  they  would  be  protected 
with  due  care. 


Address  of  Mr.  Lodge,  of  Massachusetts     37 


Two  years  later  he  returned  to  the  subject  as  a  part  of  his 
theory  of  the  national  defense  and  said: 

In  regard  to  the  question  how  far  manufactures  ought  to  be  fostered, 
it  is  the  duty  of  this  country,  as  a  means  of  defense,  to  encourage  its  domes- 
tic industry,  more  especially  that  part  of  it  which  provides  the  necessary 
materials  for  clothing  and  defense  *  *  *.  The  question  relating  to 
manufactures  must  not  depend  on  the  abstract  principle  that  industry, 
left  to  pursue  its  own  course,  will  find  in  its  own  interests  all  the  encourage- 
ment that  is  necessary.  Laying  the  claims  of  manufacturers  entirely  out 
of  view,  on  general  principles,  without  regard  to  their  interests,  a  certain 
encouragement  should  be  extended,  at  least  to  our  woolen  and  cotton 
manufactures. 

At  the  close  of  the  same  year,  December  16,  1816  (Annals  of 
Congress,  1816-17,  PP-  853,  854),  he  said: 

Let  it  not  be  forgotten,  let  it  be  forever  kept  in  mind,  that  the  extent  of 
our  Republic  exposes  us  to  the  greatest  of  all  calamities,  next  to  the  loss 
of  liberty,  and  even  to  that  in  its  consequence— disunion.  We  are  great, 
and  rapidly — I  was  about  to  say  fearfully — growing.  This  is  our  pride 
and  danger,  our  weakness  and  our  strength.  Little  does  he  deserve  to  be 
intrusted  with  the  liberties  of  this  people  who  does  not  raise  his  mind  to 
these  truths.  We  are  under  the  most  imperious  obligation  to  counteract 
every  tendency  to  disunion  *  * .  *.  If  *  *  *  we  permit  a  low, 
sordid,  selfish,  and  sectional  spirit  to  take  possession  of  this  House,  this 
happy  scene  will  vanish.  We  will  divide,  and  in  its  consequence  will 
follow  misery  and  despotism. 

A  little  more  than  a  month  later,  broadening  his  theme,  to 
which  he  constantly  recurred,  and  speaking  of  internal  improve- 
ments (February  4,  1817),  he  said: 

It  is  mainly  urged  that  Congress  can  only  apply  the  public  money  in 
execution  of  the  enumerated  powers.  I  am  no  advocate  for  refined  argu- 
ments on  the  Constitution.  The  instrument  was  not  intended  as  a  thesis 
for  the  logician  to  exercise  his  ingenuity  on.  It  ought  to  be  construed 
with  plain  good  sense;  and  what  can  be  more  express  than  the  Constitu- 
tion on  this  point?  *  *  *  If  the  framers  had  intended  to  limit  the 
use  of  the  money  to  the  powers  afterwards  enumerated  and  defined,  nothing 


38  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

could  have  been  more  easy  than  to  have  expressed  it  plainly.  *  *  * 
But  suppose  the  Constitution  to  be  silent;  why  should  we  be  confined  in 
the  application  of  moneys  to  the  enumerated  powers?  There  is  nothing 
in  the  reason  of  the  thing  that  I  can  perceive  why  it  should  be  so  restricted ; 
and  the  habitual  and  uniform  practice  of  the  Government  coincides  with 
my  opinion.  *  *  *  In  reply  to  this  uniform  course  of  legislation  I 
expect  it  will  be  said  that  our  Constitution  is  founded  on  positive  and 
written  principles  and  not  on  precedents.  I  do  not  deny  the  position,  but 
I  have  introduced  these  instances  to  prove  the  uniform  sense  of  Congress 
and  the  country — for  they  have  not  been  objected  to — as  to  our  powers; 
and  surely  they  furnish  better  evidence  of  the  true  interpretation  of  the 
Constitution  than  the  most  refined  and  subtle  arguments.  Let  it  not  be 
argued  that  the  construction  for  which  I  contend  gives  a  dangerous  extent 
to  the  powers  of  Congress.  In  this  point  of  view  I  conceive  it  to  be  more 
safe  than  the  opposite.  By  giving  a  reasonable  extent  to  the  money  power 
it  exempts  us  from  the  necessity  of  giving  a  strained  and  forced  construc- 
tion to  the  other  enumerated  powers. 

From  the  House  of  Representatives  he  passed  to  the  Cabinet 
of  President  Monroe,  where  he  served  from  1817  to  1825  as 
Secretary  of  War,  showing  high  capacity  as  an  administrator. 
He  took  the  department  avowedly  as  a  reformer,  for  the  lesson 
of  our  unreadiness  and  our  lack  of  military  preparation  had 
been  burned  into  his  mind  by  the  bitter  experiences  of  the  war 
of  1812.  The  army  was  reduced  by  Congress  during  his  tenure 
of  office,  but  organization,  discipline,  and  efficiency  were  all 
advanced  by  his  well-directed  efforts. 

In  1825  Mr.  CALHOUN  was  elected  Vice-President,  and  was 
reelected  four  years  later.  In  1832  he  resigned  the  Vice-Presi- 
dency to  become  Senator  from  South  Carolina.  His  resignation, 
followed  by  his  acceptance  of  the  Senatorship,  marks  his  public 
separation  from  the  policies  of  his  earlier  years  and  the  formal 
devotion  of  his  life  to  the  cause  of  states  rights  and  slavery. 
The  real  division  had  begun  some  years  before  he  left  the  Vice- 
Presidency.  His  change  of  attitude  culminated  in  his  support 


Address  of  Mr.  Lodge,  of  Massachusetts     39 

of  nullification  and  in  his  bitter  quarrel  with  Jackson,  which 
was  all  the  more  violent  because  they  were  of  the  same  race  and 
were  both  possessed  of  equal  strength  of  will  and  intensity  of 
conviction. 

I  have  thus  referred  to  the  change  in  Mr.  CALHOUN'S  position 
solely  because  of  its  historical  significance,  marking,  as  it  does, 
the  beginning  of  a  new  epoch  in  the  great  conflict  between  the 
contending  principles  of  nationalism  and  separatism.  In  his 
own  day  he  was  accused  of  inconsistency,  and  the  charge  was 
urged  and  repelled  with  the  heat  usual  to  such  disputes.  Noth- 
ing, as  a  rule,  is  more  futile  or  more  utterly  unimportant  than 
efforts  to  prove  inconsistency.  It  is  a  favorite  resort  in  debate, 
and  it  may  therefore  be  supposed  that  it  is  considered  effective 
in  impressing  the  popular  mind.  Historically,  it  is  a  charge 
which  has  little  weight  unless  conditions  lend  it  an  importance 
which  is  never  inherent  in  the  mere  fact  itself.  If  no  man  ever 
changed  his  opinions,  if  no  one  was  open  to  the  teachings  of 
experience,  human  progress  would  be  arrested  and  the  world 
would  stagnate  in  an  intellectual  lethargy.  Inconsistency 
Emerson  has  declared  to  be  the  bugbear  of  weak  minds,  and  this 
is  entirely  true  of  those  who,  dreading  the  accusation,  shrink 
from  adopting  an  opinion  or  a  faith  which  they  believe  to  be 
true,  but  to  which  they  have  formerly  been  opposed.  Mr. 
CALHOUN  defined  inconsistency  long  before  the  day  when  the 
charge  was  brought  against  him  with  that  fine  precision  of 
thought  which  was  so  characteristic  of  all  his  utterances. 

Men  can  not»go  straight  forward — 

He  said  in  the  House  in  1814 — 

but  must  regard  the  obstacles  which  impede  their  course.  Inconsistency 
consists  in  a  change  of  conduct  when  there  is  no  change  of  circumstances 
which  justify  it. 


40  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

Tried  by  this  accurate  standard,  Mr.  CALHOUN  is  as  little  to 
be  criticised  for  his  change  of  position  as  Mr.  Webster  for  his 
altered  attitude  in  regard  to  the  system  of  protection.  With 
the  new  conditions  and  new  circumstances  both  men  changed 
on  important  questions  of  policy,  and  both  were  justified  from 
their  respective  points  of  view  in  doing  so.  That  Mr.  CALHOUN 
went  further  than  Mr.  Webster,  changing  not  only  as  to  a  policy 
but  in  his  views  of  the  Constitution  and  the  structure  of  gov- 
ernment, does  not  in  the  least  affect  the  truth  of  the  general 
proposition.  The  very  measures  which  he  had  once  fostered 
and  defended  had  brought  into  being  a  situation  which  he  felt 
with  unerring  prescience  portended  the  destruction  of  the  funda- 
mental principles  in  which  he  believed  and  of  a  social  and 
economic  system  which  he  thought  vital  to  the  safety  and 
prosperity  of  the  people  whom  he  represented.  The  national 
force  which  he  had  helped  to  strengthen,  the  central  govern- 
ment which  he  had  so  powerfully  aided  to  build  up,  seemed  to 
him  to  have  become  the  creation  of  Frankenstein,  a  being  which 
threatened  to  destroy  its  creators  and  all  he  personally  held 
most  dear.  It  was  inevitable  that  he  should  strive  with  all 
his  strength  to  stay  the  progress  of  what  he  thought  would 
bring  ruin  to  the  system  in  which  he  believed.  Once  committed 
to  this  opinion,  he  was  incapable  of  finding  a  halfway  house 
where  he  could  rest  in  peace  or  a  compromise  which  he  could 
accept  with  confidence.  His  reason  carried  him  to  the  inevita- 
ble end  which  his  inexorable  logic  demanded,  and  to  that  reason 
and  that  logic  he  was  loyal  with  all  the  loyalty  of  strong  con- 
viction and  an  honest  mind.  There  is  no  need  to  discuss  either 
the  soundness  or  the  validity  of  the  opinions  he  held.  That  is 
a  question  which  has  long  since  passed  before  the  tribunal  of 
history.  All  that  concerns  us  to-day  is  to  recall  the  manner 
in  which  CALHOUN  carried  on  his  long  struggle  of  twenty-five 


Address  of  Mr.  Lodge,  of  Massachusetts     41 

years  in  behalf  of  principles  to  which  he  was  utterly  devoted. 
He  brought  to  the  conflict  extraordinary  mental  and  moral 
qualities,  deep  conviction,  an  iron  will,  a  powerful  mind,  an 
unsparing  logic,  and  reasoning  powers  of  the  highest  order. 
Burr  said  that  anyone  who  went  onto  paper  with  Alexander 
Hamilton  was  lost.  Anyone  who  admitted  Mr.  CALHOUN'S 
premises  was  lost  in  like  fashion.  Once  caught  in  the  grasp  of 
that  penetrating  and  relentless  intellect,  there  was  no  escape. 
You  must  go  with  it  to  the  end. 

He  fought  his  fight  with  unbending  courage,  asking  no  quar- 
ter and  giving  none.  He  flinched  from  no  conclusion;  he  faced 
every  result  without  change  or  concession.  He  had  no  fear 
of  the  opponents  who  met  him  in  debate.  He  felt  assured  in 
his  own  heart  that  he  could  hold  his  own  against  all  comers. 
But  he  must  have  known,  for  he  was  not  a  man  who  ever 
suffered  from  self-deception,  that  the  enemies  whom  he  could 
not  overcome  were  beyond  the  range  of  argument  and  debate. 
The  unconquerable  foes  were  the  powerful  and  silent  forces  of 
the  time  of  which  the  great  uprising  of  1848  in  behalf  of  politi- 
cal liberty  was  but  a  manifestation.  The  world  of  civilized 
man  was  demanding  a  larger  freedom,  and  slavery,  economically 
unsound,  was  a  survival  and  an  anachronism.  Even  more 
formidable  was  the  movement  for  national  unity,  which  was 
world  wide.  It  was  stirring  in  Germany  and  was  in  active  life 
in  Italy.  The  principle  of  separatism,  of  particularism,  was  at 
war  with  the  spirit  of  the  time.  The  stars  in  their  courses 
fought  against  Sisera,  and  CALHOUN,  with  his  keen  perceptions, 
must  have  known  in  his  heart  that  he  was  defending  his  cause 
against  hopeless  odds.  But  he  never  blenched  and  his  gallant 
spirit  never  failed  or  yielded.  When  the  crisis  of  1850  came, 
Clay  brought  forward  his  last  and  most  famous  compromise, 
which  was  supported  by  Webster.  The  two  Whig  leaders  were 


42  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

filled  with  dread  as  they  contemplated  the  perils  which  at  that 
moment  menaced  the  Union  and  were  ready  to  go  far  on  the 
road  of  concession.  CALHOUN,  then  nearing  his  death,  had  no 
faith  in  the  compromise.  He  saw  with  that  clearness  of  vision 
which  nothing  could  dim  that  in  the  existing  state  of  public 
thought,  in  the  presence  of  the  aspirations  for  freedom  and 
national  unity  which  then  filled  the  minds  of  men  throughout 
the  world  of  western  civilization,  no  compromise  such  as  Clay 
proposed  could  possibly  endure.  He  had  his  own  plan,  which 
he  left  as  a  legacy  to  his  country.  But  his  proposition  was  no 
compromise.  It  settled  the  question.  It  divided  the  country 
under  the  forms  of  law  and  made  the  National  Government  only 
a  government  in  name.  The  solution  was  complete,  but  it  was 
impossible.  Clay's  compromise,  as  everyone  knows,  was 
adopted.  There  was  a  brief  lull,  and  then  the  mighty  forces 
of  the  age  swept  it  aside  and  pressed  forward  in  their  inevitable 
conflict. 

I  think  CALHOUN  understood  all  this,  which  is  so  plain  now 
and  was  so  hidden  then,  better  than  either  of  his  great  oppo- 
nents. If  they  realized  the  situation  as  he  did,  they  at  all  events 
did  not  admit  it.  Clay,  with  the  sanguine  courage  which  always 
characterized  him,  with  the  invincible  hopefulness  which  never 
deserted  him,  gave  his  last  years  to  his  supreme  effort  to  turn 
aside  the  menace  of  the  time  by  a  measure  of  mutual  concession. 
Webster  sustained  Clay,  but  with  far  less  buoyancy  of  spirit  or 
of  hope.  Thus,  just  sixty  years  ago,  they  all  stood  together 
for  the  last  time,  these  three  men  who  gave  their  names  to  an 
epoch  in  our  history  and  who  typified  in  themselves  the  tenden- 
cies of  the  time.  Before  two  years  more  had  passed  they  had 
all  three  gone,  and  the  curtain  had  fallen  on  that  act  of  the 
great  drama  in  which  they  had  played  the  leading  parts.  It  is 
a  moment  in  our  history  which  has  always  seemed  to  me  to 


Address  of  Mr.  Lodge,  of  Massachusetts     43 

possess  an  irresistible  attraction.  Not  merely  are  the  printed 
records,  the  speeches  that  were  then  made,  and  the  memoirs 
then  written  of  absorbing  interest,  but  the  men  themselves  not 
only  filled  but  looked  their  parts,  which  is  far  from  common  in 
the  case  of  actors  in  the  never-ending  drama  of  humanity.  They 
all  look  in  their  portraits  as  imagination  tells  us  they  should  look, 
and  I  share  the  faith  of  Carlyle  in  the  evidence  of  portraiture. 
Over  the  vigorous,  angular,  and  far  from  handsome  features  of 
Henry  Clay  is  spread  that  air  of  serenity  and  of  cheerfulness 
which  was  one  among  the  many  qualities  which  so  drew  to  him 
the  fervent  affection  of  thousands  of  men.  We  can  realize,  as 
we  look,  the  fascination  which  attracted  people  to  him,  the 
charm  which  enabled  him,  as  one  of  his  admirers  said: 
To  cast  off  his  friends  as  the  huntsman  his  pack, 
For  he  knew  when  he  pleased  he  could  whistle  them  back. 

A  gallant  soul,  an  inspiring  leader,  a  dashing,  winning,  im- 
pulsive nature,  brilliant  talents — I  think  one  can  see  them  all 
there  in  the  face  of  Henry  Clay.  Turn  to  the  latest  portraits 
of  Webster  and  CALHOUN,  and  you  pass  into  another  world. 
They  are  two  of  the  most  remarkable  heads,  two  of  the  most 
striking,  most  compelling  faces  in  the  long  annals  of  portraiture. 
They  are  widely  different,  so  far  as  the  outer  semblance  is  con- 
cerned. The  great  leonine  head  of  Webster,  charged  with 
physical  and  mental  strength,  the  massive  jaw,  the  eyes,  as 
Carlyle  said,  glowing  like  dull  anthracite  furnaces  beneath  the 
heavy  brows,  seem  at  the  first  glance  to  have  no  even  remote 
resemblance  to  the  haggard  face  of  CALHOUN,  with  the  dark, 
piercing,  yet  somber,  eyes  looking  out  from  cavernous  orbits, 
the  high,  intellectual  forehead,  the  stern,  strong  mouth  and 
jaw,  all  printed  deep  with  the  lines  of  suffering  endured  in 
silence.  But  if  we  look  again  and  consider  more  deeply  we 
can  see  that  there  is  a  likeness  between  them.  The  last  photo- 


44  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

graphs  of  Webster,  the  last  portraits  of  CALHOUN,  show  us  a 
certain  strong  resemblance  which  is  not,  I  think,  the  mere 
creation  of  a  fancy  bred  by  our  knowledge  of  the  time.  Both 
are  exceptionally  powerful  faces.  In  both  great  intellect,  great 
force,  and  the  pride  of  thought  are  apparent,  and  both  are 
deeply  tragic  in  their  expression.  It  is  not  the  tragedy  of  dis- 
appointment because  they  had  failed  to  attain  the  office  which 
was  the  goal  of  their  ambition.  That  was  the  shallow  explana- 
tion of  excited  contemporary  judgment.  Personal  disappoint- 
ment- does  not,  and  can  not,  leave  the  expression  we  find  in 
those  two  faces.  There  is  a  "listening  fear  in  their  regard;" 
not  a  personal  fear — they  were  too  great  for  that — but  a  dread 
because  they  heard,  as  other  men  could  not  hear,  the  hand  of 
fate  knocking  at  the  door.  The  shadow  of  the  coming  woe 
fell  darkly  across  their  last  years,  and  the  tragedy  which  weighed 
them  down  was  the  tragedy  of  their  country.  It  was  thus  that 
Webster  looked  when,  in  the  7th  of  March  speech  in  the  great 
passage  on  "peaceable  secession, "  he  cried  out  in  agony  of  spirit : 

What  States  are  to  secede?  What  is  to  remain  American?  What  am 
I  to  be?  An  American  no  longer?  Am  I  to  become  a  sectional  man,  a 
local  man,  a  separatist,  with  no  country  in  common  with  the  gentlemen 
who  sit  around  me  here,  or  who  fill  the  other  House  of  Congress  ?  Heaven 
forbid !  Where  is  the  flag  of  the  Republic  to  remain  ?  Where  is  the  eagle 
still  to  tower?  Or  is  he  to  cower  and  shrink  and  fall  to  the  ground ? 

However  Webster  and  CALHOUN  disagreed,  they  both  knew 
that  the  Union  could  not  be  lightly  broken.  They  knew  the  dis- 
ruption of  the  States  would  be  a  convulsion.  They  foresaw 
that  it  would  bring  war,  the  war  which  Webster  predicted,  and 
they  both  turned  with  dread  from  the  vision  which  haunted 
them. 

We  catch  the  same  note  in  the  words  of  CALHOUN  on  karch 
5,  1850,  when  he  declared,  "If  I  am  judged  by  my  acts,  I 
trust  I  shall  be  found  as  firm  a  friend  of  the  Union  as  any  man 


Address  of  Mr.  Lodge,  of  Massachusetts     45 

within  it."  Despite  all  he  had  said  and  done,  he  still  clung 
to  the  Union  he  had  served  so  long,  and  when  as  the  month 
closed  and  he  lay  upon  his  deathbed  the  thought  of  the  future, 
dark  with  menace,  was  still  with  him,  and  he  was  heard  to 
murmur :  "The  South !  The  poor  South !  God  knows  what  will 
become  of  her." 

So  they  passed  away,  the  three  great  Senators,  and  the  vast 
silent  forces  which  moved  mankind  and  settled  the  fate  of 
nations  marched  forward  to  their  predestined  end. 

We  do  well  to  place  here  a  statue  of  CALHOUN.  I  would  that 
he  could  stand  with  none  but  his  peers  about  him  and  not 
elbowed  and  crowded  by  the  temporarily  notorious  and  the 
illustrious  obscure.  His  statue  is  here  of  right.  He  was  a 
really  great  man,  one  of  the  great  figures  of  our  history.  In 
that  history  he  stands  out  clear,  distinct,  commanding.  There 
is  no  trace  of  the  demagogue  about  him.  He  was  a  bold  as  well 
as  a  deep  thinker,  and  he  had  to  the  full  the  courage  of  his 
convictions.  The  doctrines  of  socialism  were  as  alien  to  him  as 
the  worship  of  commercialism.  He  "raised  his  mind  to  truths." 
He  believed  that  statesmanship  must  move  on  a  high  plane, 
and  he  could  not  conceive  that  mere  money  making  and  money 
spending  were  the  highest  objects  of  ambition  in  the  lives  of 
men  or  nations. 

He  was  the  greatest  man  South  Carolina  has  given  to  the 
Nation.  .That  in  itself  is  no  slight  praise,  for  from  the  days  of 
the  Laurenses,  the  Pinckneys,  the  Rutledges,  from  the  time  of 
Moultrie  and  Sumter  and  Marion  to  the  present  day,  South 
Carolina  has  always  been  conspicuous  in  peace  and  war  for 
the  force,  the  ability,  and  the  character  of  the  men  who  have 
served  her  and  given  to  her  name  its  high  distinction  in  our 
history.  But  CAL,HOUN  was  much  more  even  than  this.  He  was 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  men,  one  of  the  greatest  minds 


46  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhouu 

that  American  public  life  can  show.  It  matters  not  that  before 
the  last  tribunal  the  verdict  went  against  him,  that  the  extreme 
doctrines  to  which  his  imperious  logic  carried  him  have  been 
banned  and  barred,  the  man  remains  greatly  placed  in  our 
history.  The  unyielding  courage,  the  splendid  intellect,  the 
long  devotion  to  the  public  service,  the  pure,  unspotted  private 
life  are  all  there,  are  all  here  with  us  now,  untouched  and 
unimpaired  for  after  ages  to  admire.  [Applause  on  the  floor 
and  in  the  galleries.] 


Address  of  Mr.  Smith,  of  South  Carolina 

j» 

Mr.  PRESIDENT:  It  is  with  a  feeling  of  pride  that  every  South 
Carolinian  has  met  to-day  to  do  honor  to  this  great  statesman, 
and  it  is  with  particular  sadness  that  the  occasion  should  be  so 
incomplete  in  not  having  with  us  to-day  the  senior  Senator  from 
our  State  [Mr.  Tillman],  who  takes  such  a  pride  in  the  history  of 
his  State  and  especially  in  that  of  CALHOUN.  The  senior  Senator 
was  to  have  had  charge  of  these  ceremonies. 

A  man  is  largely  the  product  of  his  environment.  The  period 
at  which  the  life,  of  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  began  was,  perhaps,  the 
most  momentous  in  the  history  of  the  civilized  nations  of  the 
world. 

The  immigration  here  was  by  those  who  sought  an  asylum 
from  the  oppressions  and  wrongs  of  those  governments  of  the 
Old  World  which  refused  or  were  incapable  of  adjusting  them- 
selves to  the  growing  sense  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  individual, 
which  sense  was  being  fostered  by  the  rapid  spread  of  educa- 
tion, and  this  was  largely  the  cause  of  the  production  at  the 
time  of  the  American  Revolution  and  the  years  immediately 
subsequent  thereto  of  those  great  characters  which,  in  military 
and  civil  affairs,  stand  out  as  possessing  such  wonderful  powers 
of  mind  and  character.  Chief  among  these  is  he  whose  statue 
we  unveil  to-day  in  the  Hall  of  Fame. 

Born  March  17,  1782,  his  childhood  was  spent  among  those 
scenes  and  under  those  influences  which  contributed  largely 
to  his  future  career. 

According  to  the  record,  his  opportunities  for  education,  in 
an  academic  sense,  were  limited,  but  in  the  sense  of  the  period 
in  which  he  lived  were,  perhaps,  the  most  fortunate  that  could 

47 


48  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

befall  a  mind  and  character  such  as  his.  He  came  at  a  time 
to  which  all  the  lines  of  the  past  converged  and  from  which 
were  to  radiate  the  influences  that  were  to  mold  the  future. 
The  colonies  of  America  had  thrown  off  the  yoke  of  oppression 
of  the  mother  country,  because  they  had  agreed  that  the  right 
of  the  governed  to  a  voice  in  the  government  was  inherent  and 
inalienable,  and  that  the  peace,  prosperity,  and  progress  of  the 
human  race  could  only  be  brought  about  by  securing  to  each 
individual  the  right  of  "life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happi- 
ness;" that  no  man — no  majority  of  men — had  any  right, 
divine  or  human,  to  invade  this  inalienable  right. 

He  was  born  in  the  closing  years  of  the  struggle  for  Ameri- 
can independence,  for  the  establishment  of  a  democratic  form 
of  government.  His  childhood  and  youth  were  spent  during 
those  years  when  the  genius  of  mankind  was  attempting  to 
solve  the  vexed  problem  of  the  ages — the  problem  of  a  govern- 
ment of  the  people,  for  the  people,  and  by  the  people. 

The  different  States,  which  at  that  time  formed  the  thirteen 
original  colonies,  had  met  and  formulated  in  convention  that 
wonderful  instrument  known  as  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States. 

All  history  testifies  to  the  fact  that  the  labors  of  these  men 
were  directed  to  one  main  essential  point — the  framing  of  an 
instrument  so  in  accord  with  the  inherent  right  of  liberty- 
loving  men  that  the  oppressions  they  had  been  subjected  to  in 
the  past  should  not  be  repeated  in  the  future,  and  that  this  in- 
strument should  be  so  worded  and  so  guarded  at  every  point 
that  the  weakest  individual,  as  well  as  the  weakest  community, 
should  be  protected  in  all  the  sacred  rights  that  by  nature  they 
were  entitled  to. 

Each  State  delegated  such  powers  to  the  General  Government 
as  in  its  opinion  was  essential  to  the  general  protection  and 


Address  of  Mr.  Smith,  of  South  Carolina     49 

welfare,  reserving  to  each  State  those  powers  which,  in  its 
sovereign  capacity,  it  was  better  qualified  to  exercise  for  itself. 

This  was  the  school — the  preparatory  school — in  which  the 
young  South  Carolinian  was  being  trained  for  his  future  career. 
How  marvelously  he  had  absorbed  the  cardinal  principles  of  the 
times  his  future  career  wonderfully  attests.  Perhaps  no  one 
of  all  the  illustrious  men  who  make  this  epoch  of  our  history 
famous  embodied  and  became  the  exponent  of  the  spirit  of  the 
time  as  did  CALHOUN.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  he  belonged 
to  that  section  of  the  Union  which  represented  the  oppressed, 
and  consequently  called  forth  the  same  protest  that  gave  rise  to 
the  Revolution  and  the  Constitution. 

As  I  have  said,  his  academic  opportunities  were  limited,  but 
with  singular  application  he  availed  himself  of  such  opportu- 
nities as  came  within  his  reach.  At  the  age  of  19  he  entered 
Yale  College,  graduating  two  years  later  with  distinction.  He 
studied  law  at  Litchfield,  Conn.,  and  in  Charleston,  S.  C.  He 
was  elected  to  the  legislature  in  1809,  serving  two  years  in  that 
body.  In  181 1  he  was  elected  a  Member  of  Congress  and  imme- 
diately began  that  brilliant  career  which  suffered  no  diminution 
or  abatement,  but  grew  and  expanded  with  the  years  until  cut 
short  by  death  March  31,  1850.  From  1817  to  1825  he  was  Sec- 
retary of  War  in  President  Monroe's  Cabinet.  He  brought  to 
that  department  that  same  devotion  to  truth,  to  the  discovery  of 
the  principles  that  underlie  and  control  the  perfection  of  every 
department  or  division  of  life  or  government,  and  out  of  the 
chaos  that  then  engulfed  this  arm  of  the  Government  he  per- 
fected that  system  which  has  resulted  in  the  present  efficient 
state  of  this  department. 

Chosen  to  the  Vice-Presidency  in  1825,  he  discharged  the  func- 
tions of  that  office  with  the  same  distinction  and  power  that  had 
characterized  his  previous  career.  In  1832  he  resigned  the  Vice- 

437960 — 10 4 


50  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

Presidency  to  become  a  factor  as  a  Senator  of  the  United  States 
in  resisting  what  he  believed  was  an  encroachment  upon  the 
sacred  compact  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  And 
here  on  the  floor  of  this,  the  highest  tribunal  of  the  rights  of  the 
people  on  the  globe,  no  voice  has  ever  been  raised,  nor  argument 
formulated,  nor  logic  so  irresistible,  as  his  in  the  defense  of  the 
weak  against  the  encroachment  of  the  strong. 

His  interpretation  of  the  Constitution  was  according  to  the 
spirit  that  gave  it  birth;  the  unjust  taxation  of  England  was 
the  occasion  of  the  revolt  of  the  colonies;  and  the  triumph  of 
liberty  against  this  oppression  was  the  cause  and  opportunity  of 
the  writing  of  that  sacred  instrument.  And  when  the  same 
methods  were  being  used  to  enrich  one  section  of  the  Union  at 
the  expense  of  another,  CALHOUN  plead  with  all  the  power  of  his 
earnest  and  loyal  soul  for  the  right  of  his  section  to  enjov  the 
benefits  of  that  that  had  been  given  it  by  God  and  that  he  sup- 
posed had  been  guaranteed  to  her  by  the  Constitution,  as  the 
colonies  had  plead  for  their  rights  under  God  and  their  charter. 

No  clearer  exposition  of  the  theory  of  human  government  has 
ever  been  written  than  his  marvelous  disquisition  on  govern- 
ment. He  touches  the  keynote  of  all  that  has  embroiled  nation 
against  nation  in  civil  strife  when  he  says  that  human  selfish- 
ness unrestrained  leads  to  the  disastrous  a"buse  of  power.  His 
sense  of  justice  and  right  was  so  acute,  his  own  conception  of 
truth  so  clear,  that  he  could  not  for  a  moment  tolerate  the 
sophistry  of  those  who,  under  the  guise  of  the  liberal  construc- 
tion of  the  Constitution,  were  attempting  to  enrich  themselves 
and  their  section  at  the  expense  of  another  and  less  populous 
section  of  the  Union. 

In  his  famous  debate  with  the  great  Webster  on  the  question 
of  states  rights  he  plead  for  that  construction  of  the  Constitu- 
tion which  was  in  accord  with  the  spirit  of  its  birth  and  which 


Address  of  Mr.  Smith,  of  South  Carolina     51 

was  intended  to  guarantee  to  each  State  and  community  the 
fullest  possible  measure  of  local  self-government.  He  believed, 
and  with  resistless  logic  proved,  that  there  was  no  power  granted 
in  the  Constitution  to  coerce  a  State  in  accepting  a  law  which 
unjustly  discriminated  against  her  enjoyment  of  every  right  and 
privilege  enjoyed  by  another. 

He  has  been  criticised  for  having  changed  his  attitude  on  the 
subject  of  a  protective  tariff.  It  is  true  that  the  first  protective 
tariff  of  1816  he  did  advocate,  as  every  loyal  American  did,  for 
the  reason  that  he  believed  that  in  the  emergency  of  war  our 
country,  being  new  and  unprepared  in  manufacturing  enter- 
prises, was  unable  to  supply  her  people  with  those  articles  neces- 
sary for  their  comfort  and  convenience,  and  that  in  case  of  a 
blockade  or  an  embargo,  such  as  we  had  just  experienced,  great 
suffering  would  result.  Consequently  he  advocated  fostering 
and  hastening  the  efficiency  of  such  enterprises  as  would  render 
us  independent  in  case  of  a  repetition  of  a  like  experience.  He 
realized  full  well  the  danger  of  such  an  experiment,  for  none 
knew  more  perfectly  than  he  the  power  of  human  greed,  but, 
relying  upon  the  good  sense,  experience,  and  patriotism  of 
Americans,  he  believed  that  when  the  fostering  care  of  the 
Government  had  insured  the  establishment  of  these  enterprises 
it  would  not  tolerate  the  extremes  to  which  their  greed  subse- 
quently led.  No  more  than  his  South  Carolina  forefathers 
did  he  believe  in  ratifying  the  Constitution  that  it  would  be  used 
as  an  instrument  to  coerce  his  State  in  paying,  as  they  believed, 
an  unjust  tribute  to  this  protected  greed.  As  he  favored  the  one 
for  patriotic  reasons,  so  he  resisted  the  other  for  the  same  high 
reason.  However  subsequent  events  may  have  resulted,  there 
is  no  one  to  deny  the  fact  that  the  course  of  Mr.  CALHOUN  was 
consistent  and  his  logic  irresistible. 


52  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C .  Calhoun 

He  loved  the  Union,  and  it  vexed  his  soul  to  know  that  the 
pride  and  honor  of  his  State  was  being  so  humiliated  that  he 
foresaw  that  unless  some  measure  could  be  adopted  by  which 
the  oppression  might  be  relieved,  it  would  lead  to  disunion, 
which,  to  him,  was  the  greatest  of  all  possible  calamities. 

The  two  great  questions  involved — taxation  and  the  aboli- 
tion of  slavery — though  in  the  minds  of  the  protectionists  and 
abolitionists  they  may  have  been  disassociated  from  any  refer- 
ence to  sections  of  the  country,  yet,  in  their  application  finan- 
cially, socially,  and  commercially,  the  South  was  the  section 
that  was  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  entire  loss  and  the  necessary 
suffering  consequent  therefrom.  Therefore,  as  to  the  tariff, 
South  Carolina  passed  her  famous  ordinance  of  nullification. 
Under  the  teachings  of  Mr.  CALHOUN  it  was  believed  that  so 
radical  a  step  would  bring  those  advocating  this  measure  to  a 
realization  of  the  wrong  that  they  were  perpetrating;  and  for 
a  time  it  did  have  this  effect.  Mr.  Clay  interposed  his  great 
influence  and  brought  about  a  compromise,  which  for  a  time 
allayed  the  friction  engendered  by  this  legislation. 

The  other  question,  that  of  slavery,  involved  far  different 
elements.  It  was  true  that  there  was  a  seeming  inconsistency 
in  democratic  America  legalizing  slavery  within  her  borders. 
The  institution  of  slavery  did,  perhaps,  tend  to  create  an  aris- 
tocracy, in  fact  if  not  in  name,  which  our  Constitution  took 
pains  to  provide  against.  There  was  also  a  moral  element  in- 
volved which  was  at  variance  with  the  avowed  spirit  of  the 
New  World. 

But  notwithstanding  this,  a  slave  was  the  only  property 
recognized  and  provided  for  by  the  Constitution.  And  Mr. 
CALHOUN  plead  for  the  right  of  the  South,  under  the  Constitu- 
tion, to  maintain  her  own  institutions  and  to  solve  the  eco- 
nomic and  domestic  questions  that  arose  within  each  State  by 


Address  of  Mr.  Smith,  of  South  Carolina     53, 


virtue  of  the  reserved  powers  claimed  and  held  by  each  State 
under  the  Constitution. 

The  institution  of  slavery  may  have  been,  and  perhaps  wasr 
a  moral  and  political  wrong,  but  it  was  also  recognized  by  Mr, 
CALHOUN  as  a  moral  and  political  wrong  for  those  who  could 
not  and  did  not  profit  by  this  institution,  and  who  had  recog- 
nized it  in  the  organic  law  of  the  land  to  attempt  to  coerce  the 
South  and  to  disturb  the  balance  of  power  between  the  two 
sections  by  refusing  the  admission  into  the  Union  of  any  State 
that  was  likely  to  be  a  slaveholding  State.  There  was  another 
element  involved  in  this  great  controversy  between  the  sections 
which  was  not  properly  understood  and  which  to-day  is  begin- 
ning to  be  realized  by  those  whom  fanaticism  and  passion  had 
rendered  incapable  of  appreciating  and  understanding  the  facts, 
and  that  was  the  nature  of  the  negro  himself.  The  people  of 
the  South  understood  that  he  was  incapable  of  appreciating 
those  higher  traits  of  character  and  of  life  that  would  make 
him  a  fit  subject  for  the  exercise  of  the  functions  of  citizenship. 

Mr.  CALHOUN  speaks  this  clearer  than  I  may  hope  to  do, 
when,  on  August  12,  1849,  he  gave  utterance  to  these  words: 

I  have  now  stated  my  reasons  for  believing  that  the  abolition  agitation 
will  never  stop  of  itself,  nor  ever  will  be  stopped  through  the  presidential 
election  or  the  action  of  this  Government,  and  that  nothing  short  of  the 
united  and  fixed  determination  of  the  South  to  maintain  her  rights  at 
every  hazard  can  stop  it.  Without  this,  the  end  must  be  emancipation 
in  the  worst  possible  form — -far  worse  than  if  done  by  our  own  voluntary 
act,  instead  of  being  compelled  to  adopt  it  at  the  bidding  of  a  dominant 
section  whose  interest  and  sympathy  for  them,  and  hostility  to  us,  would 
combine  to  reverse  the  present  relations  between  the  two  races  in  the 
South  by  raising  the  inferior  to  be  the  favored  and  superior  and  sinking 
the  superior  to  be  the  inferior  and  despised. 

The  horrors  of  reconstruction,  the  alienation  of  the  races,  the 
intensifying  of  the  natural  antipathy,  the  long  weary  years  of 
humiliation  and  suffering  attest  his  prophetic  power. 


54  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

That  he  foresaw  the  result  of  these  false  principles  intro- 
duced into  our  real  life  is  marvelously  revealed  in  the  facts  of 
to-day.  In  speaking  on  the  question  of  a  protective  tariff,  in 
1842,  in  reference  to  the  tariff,  he  said: 

The  question  in  what  manner  the  loss  and  gain  of  the  system  distribute 
themselves  among  the  several  classes  of  society  is  intimately  connected 
with  that  of  their  distribution  among  the  several  sections.  Few  subjects 
present  more  important  points  for  consideration.  No  system  can  be 
more  efficient  to  rear  up  a  monied  aristocracy.  Its  tendency  is  to  make 
the  poor  poorer  and  the  rich  richer.  Heretofore  in  our  country  this 
tendency  has  displayed  itself  principally  in  its  efforts  as  regards  the 
different  sections.  But  the  time  will  come  when  it  will  produce  the  same 
results  between  the  several  classes  in  the  manufacturing  States.  After 
we  are  exhausted  the  contest  will  be  between  capital  and  operatives,  for 
into  these  two  classes  it  must,  ultimately,  divide  society. 

Do  the  strikes,  labor  troubles  that  have  convulsed  our  in- 
dustrial life  from  time  to  time  since  this  remarkable  declara- 
tion, and  of  which  we  are  having  a  fearful  example  just  now 
in  a  neighboring  State  and  city,  attest  the  wisdom  and  pro- 
phetic power  of  this  statesman  and  patriot?  Was  he  not  in 
the  highest  sense  a  patriot  and  a  statesman  when  pleading  for 
the  defeat  of  an  act  which,  once  incorporated  into  law,  he  fore- 
saw would  grow  into  that  gigantic  abuse  which  would  lead  to 
the  disasters  that  have  followed? 

In  the  light  of  the  legislation  and  the  discussions  incident 
thereto  that  occupied  the  first  half  of  the  present  Congress,  I 
can  not  refrain  from  quoting  his  summing  up  of  the  same 
principles  involved  in  the  debate  of  1842.  He  says: 

On  what  ground  do  they  ask  protection?  Protection  against  what? 
Against  violence,  oppression,  or  fraud?  If  so,  government- is  bound  to 
afford  it.  If  it  comes  within  the  sphere  of  its  powers,  cost  what  it  may, 
it  is  the  object  for  which  government  is  instituted;  and  if  it  fails  in  this, 
it  fails  in  the  highest  point  of  duty.  No;  it  is  against  neither  violence, 
oppression,  nor  fraud.  There  is  no  complaint  of  being  disturbed  in  property 


Address  of  Mr.  Smith,  of  South  Carolina     55 

or  pursuits,  or  of  being  defrauded  out  of  the  proceeds  of  industry.  Against 
what,  then,  is  protection  asked?  It  is  against  low  prices.  The  manufac- 
turers complain  that  they  can  not  carry  on  their  pursuits  at  prices  as  low 
as  the  present,  and  that  unless  they  can  get  higher  they  must  give  up 
manufacturing  The  evil,  then,  is  low  prices,  and  what  they  ask  of 
government  is  to  give  them  higher;  but  how  do  they  ask  it  to  be  done? 
Do  they  ask  government  to  compel  those  who  want  to  purchase  to  give 
them  higher?  No;  that  would  be  a  hard  task  and  not  a  little  odious; 
difficult  to  be  defended  on  the  principles  of  equity,  justice,  or  the  Consti- 
tution, or  to  be  enforced,  if  it  could  be.  Do  they  ask  that  a  tax  should  be 
laid  on  the  rest  of  the  community  and  the  proceeds  divided  among  them 
to  make  up  for  low  prices?  Or,  in  other  words,  do  they  ask  for  a  bounty? 
No;  that  would  be  rather  too  open,  oppressive,  and  indefensible.  How, 
then,  do  they  ask  it  to  be  done?  By  putting  down  competition;  by  the 
imposition  of  taxes  on  the  part  of  others,  so  as  to  give  them  the  exclusion 
of  the  market,  or  at  least  a  decided  advantage  over  others,  and  thereby 
enable  them  to  sell  at  higher  prices.  Stripped  of  all  disguise,  this  is  their 
request,  and  this  they  call  protection.  Call  it  tribute,  levy,  exaction, 
monopoly,  plunder;  or,  if  these  be  too  harsh,  call  it  charity,  assistance, 
aid — anything  rather  than  protection,  with  which  it  has  not  a  feature  in 
common. 

This  was  his  exposition  of  the  theory  of  protection. 

How  fittingly  might  these  words  have  been  spoken  in  the  year 
1909!  Foreseeing  as  he  did  the  tremendous  lengths  to  which 
unrestrained  greed  might  go,  and  the  frauds  that  it  might  per- 
petrate, and  the  dangers  to  our  Government  it  might  entail,  as 
a  true  statesman  and  patriot  he  brought  to  bear  his  powers 
and  logic  and  reasoning  to  avert  the  wrong. 

To  sum  it  all  up,  what  was  the  theme  of  all  his  speeches? 
To  what  great  principles  was  his  life  devoted  ?  It  was  the  great 
aim  of  struggling  humanity  through  all  the  ages,  culminating  in 
the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and  approaching  its  nearest  perfect 
expression  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States :  Equal 
rights  to  all,  under  the  law,  and  special  privileges  to  none. 
For  this  in  every  department  of  life  he  plead.  To  him  truth, 


56  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

honor,  righteousness,  equity,  and  justice  were  the  basis  of  all 
proper  personal  character,  the  foundation  of  all  enduring  gov- 
ernments. And  so  long  as  free  institutions  shall  exist,  so  long 
as  humanity  shall  battle  to  overcome  the  weaknesses  of  human 
selfishness,  so  long  will  the  name  of  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  be 
revered  and  honored.  And  in  the  Hall  of  Fame  there  can  be 
erected  no  monument  in  free  democratic  America  more  fitting, 
more  expressive  of  the  principles  upon  which  her  government  is 
founded,  and  the  practical  application  of  which,  God  willing, 
she  will  ultimately  attain,  than  the  statue  of  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN, 
the  South  Carolina  patriot  and  statesman.  [Applause  on  the 
floor  and  in  the  galleries.] 


PROCEEDINGS    IN   THE   HOUSE 

MARCH  12,  1910. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  Clerk  will  read  the  order  for  to-day. 
The  Clerk  read  as  follows : 

Resolved,  That  exercises  appropriate  to  the  reception  and  acceptance 
from  the  State  of  South  Carolina  of  the  statue  of  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN, 
erected  in  Statuary  Hall  in  the  Capitol,  be  made  the  special  order  for 
Saturday,  March  12,  1910. 

The  SPEAKER.  There  is  but  one  Member  [Mr.  Ellerbe],  as  the 
Chair  is  informed,  of  the  South  Carolina  delegation  present. 
They  held  the  ceremonies  in  Statuary  Hall  at  n  o'clock.  After 
consulting  with  the  Member  present,  it  was  suggested,  if  it 
meets  the  approval  of  the  House,  that  the  ordinary  business  of 
the  House  proceed  until  3  o'clock,  and  then  that  the  committee 
rise,  should  it  be  in  session,  and  the  order  be  executed.  Is  there 
objection  ? 

There  was  no  objection. 

***** 

The  SPEAKER.  The  Chair  lays  before  the  House  the  following 
resolution  which  the  Clerk  will  report. 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows : 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  (the  House  of  Representatives  concurring),  That 
the  statue  of  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN,  presented  by  the  State  of  South  Carolina 
to  be  placed  in  Statuary  Hall,  is  accepted  in  the  name  of  the  United  States, 
and  that  the  thanks  of  Congress  be  tendered  to  the  State  for  the  contribu- 
tion of  the  statue  of  one  of  the  most  eminent  citizens,  illustrious  for  the 
purity  of  his  life  and  his  distinguished  services  to  the  State  and  Nation. 

Second.  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions,  suitably  engrossed  and  duly 
authenticated,  be  transmitted  to  the  governor  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina. 

57 


58  Statue   of  Hon.  John  C.  Calhoun 

The  SPEAKER.  The  gentleman  from  South  Carolina  [Mr.  Fin- 
ley]  will  take  the  chair. 

Mr.  JOHNSON  of  South  Carolina.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  desire  to 
send  to  the  Clerk's  desk  and  have  read  the  following  communi- 
cation. 

The  SPEAKER  pro  tempore.  The  Clerk  will  report  the  com- 
munication. 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows : 

STATE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA, 

EXECUTIVE  CHAMBER, 

Columbia,  March  12,  1910. 
To  the  honorable  the  Senate  and  House  of 

Representatives  of  the  United  States,  Washington,  D,  C. : 

It  gives  me  great  pleasure,  as  governor  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina, 
to  present  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  a  marble  statue  of  JOHN  C. 
CALHOUN,  a  native  of  South  Carolina,  and  one  whose  name  is  honored 
wherever  known. 

JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  was  one  of  the  greatest  men  that  this  country  has 
produced,  and  a  statesman  of  renown,  who  has  left  his  impress  upon  this 
Nation,  and  whose  name  is  indelibly  inscribed  upon  the  pages  of  history, 
both  national  and  state. 

The  State  of  South  Carolina  begs  now  to  present  through  me,  as  her  gov- 
ernor, to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  as  the  representative  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  this  beautiful  statue  of  a  great  and  good  man. 

Respectfully, 

M.  F.  ANSEL, 

Governor  of  South  Carolina. 


Address  of  Mr.  Johnson,  of  South  Carolina 
> 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  I  have  arisen  from  a  sick  bed  in  order  that  by 
my  presence  at  least  I  might  attest  my  appreciation  of  the  most 
distinguished  man  that  South  Carolina  has  produced.  Although 
sickness  has  prevented  any  preparation,  I  feel  constrained  to 
submit  a  few  observations  upon  this  illustrious  man,  but  I  shall 
not  give  a  biographical  sketch  of  his  life.  Other  gentlemen,  who 
have  made  that  full  preparation  which  the  subject  and  the  occa- 
sion demand,  will  go  with  sufficient  minuteness  into  all  dates  and 
events  of  his  great  career.  He  is  the  one  man  in  American  his- 
tory who  needs  no  flattery.  The  simple  truth  will  establish 
his  fame  among  men.  He  is  not  understood.  He  has  been 
more  harshly  and  unjustly  criticised  than  any  other  man  in  our 
public  life. 

That  is  due  to  the  fact  that  one  of  the  great  constitutional 
principles  for  which  he  stood  preeminently  above  all  of  his 
fellows  became  involved  in  a  great  moral  question,  which  was 
answered  not  by  logic  but  by  the  passions  and  the  power  of 
numbers.  It  is  well  to  remember  that  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  was  not 
the  author  but  the  tragic  victim  of  the  institution  of  slavery. 
He  was  a  man  of  transcendent  ability.  This  is  evidenced  by  the 
fact  that,  born  and  reared  in  a  sparsely  settled  country  with 
few  school  facilities,  yet  in  two  years  from  the  time  he  entered 
a  country  academy  and  began  to  study  Latin  grammar  he  was 
prepared  to  enter  the  junior  class  in  Yale  College. 

Two  years  thereafter  he  was  graduated  from  that  institution 
with  distinction.  The  eminent  Doctor  Dwight,  who  differed 

59 


60  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

radically  from  him  in  his  political  convictions,  admired  greatly 
his  intellect,  and  expressed  the  opinion  that  CALHOUN  had  the 
capacity  to  be  President  of  the  United  States,  and  predicted  that 
he  would  be. 

I  have  said  that  CAivHOUN  is  misunderstood  and  unjustly  criti- 
cised, many  people  believing  that  the  only  great  question  that 
he  ever  discussed  was  that  which  was  swallowed  up  in  the  civil 
war.  In  truth  he  investigated,  mastered,  and  discussed  every 
important  question  of  legislation  and  administration  from  1810 
until  March  31,  1850,  when  his  great  soul  took  its  flight,  his 
eloquent  tongue  was  silenced,  and  the  master  brain,  which  for 
analysis  had  had  no  peer  since  Paul  the  Apostle,  ceased  its 
activities. 

When  he  came  here,  in  1810,  between  the  oppression  of  France 
on  the  one  hand  and  England  on  the  other  the  independence  of 
the  United  States  was  nominal  only.  He  took  his  place  as  the 
leader  of  that  set  of  young  statesmen  who  brought  on  the  war 
of  1812,  which  gave  us  real  independence  on  the  land  and  on 
the  sea  and  finally  settled  our  place  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  His  first  great  speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
was  made  in  reply  to  John  Randolph,  of  Virginia.  He  spoke 
upon  a  resolution  which  he  had  presented  from  the  Committee 
on  Foreign  Relations.  By  that  effort  he. at  once  established 
himself  as  one  of  the  great  thinkers  of  the  age,  and  the  Rich- 
mond Dispatch  of  that  day  gave  him  credit  for  being  one  of  the 
most  prominent  and  promising  young  men  in  public  life. 

He  was  intimately  identified  with  all  legislation  growing  out 
of  the  war,  and  after  the  war  was  over  and  our  finances  and 
currency  were  in  miserable  plight,  he  was  made  chairman  of 
the  Committee  on  Banking  and  Currency.  He  investigated  the 
currency  and  the  finances  from  every  possible  standpoint,  and 
was  more  instrumental  than  any  other  man  in  getting  the 


Address  of  Mr.  Johnson,  of  South  Carolina     61 


finances  properly  adjusted  and  the  country  brought  to  a  specie 
basis. 

In  1817  he  passed  from  the  House  of  Representatives  into 
the  Cabinet  of  Mr.  Monroe  as  Secretary  of  War,  a  position 
which  he  held  until  he  was  elected  Vice- President  of  the  United 
States.  He  took  charge  of  the  War  Department  and  brought 
system  out  of  chaos. 

In  1825  he  became  Vice- President  of  the  United  States,  and 
was  again  elected  in  1828,  but  subsequently — 1832 — he  resigned 
as  Vice- President  to  become  a  Senator  in  Congress  from  South 
Carolina.  And  here  I  may  remark,  in  passing,  lest  I  forget  it, 
that  there  never  was  a  day  when  there  was  not  a  seat  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States  for  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  if  he  desired 
to  occupy  it.  Whether  he  occupied  a  place  in  the  Cabinet  or 
as  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate,  the  moment  he  indicated  his 
willingness  to  resign  there  was  an  immediate  resignation  of 
some  Senator  from  South  Carolina  in  order  that  CALHOUN  might 
have  the  seat.  That  has  happened  in  the  life  of  no  other  man 
in  the  history  of  this  Republic.  I  may  say,  in  this  connection, 
that  only  one  time  in  all  his  public  life  did  he  meet  with  serious 
opposition  at  the  hands  of  the  electorate  in  South  Carolina. 

In  1824,  after  he  had  voted  to  give  Members  of  Congress  a 
yearly  compensation,  on  returning  to  South  Carolina  he  found 
his  vote  exceedingly  unpopular.  Most  of  the  Members  of  Con- 
gress who  voted  for  that  measure  were  never  returned.  CAI,- 
HOUN'S  friends  urged  him  to  apologize  to  the  electorate  of  his 
district  and  acknowledge  that  he  was  wrong  and  ask  their  indul- 
gence. But  that  he  refused  to  do.  Not  believing  that  he 
was  wrong,  he  could  not  apologize.  All  he  desired  was  to  be 
heard  by  the  people.  He  went  upon  the  stump,  and  he  presented 
with  that  precision  and  that  logic  for  which  he  was  noted  his 
reasons  for  his  vote,  and  was  triumphantly  elected  to  Congress. 


62  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

That  was  the  first  and  only  time,  Mr.  Speaker,  in  all  his  forty 
years  of  public  life  that  he  ever  met  opposition  at  the  hands  of 
the  people  of  South  Carolina. 

When  he  retired  from  the  Vice-Presidency  he  entered  the 
Senate  in  what  is  characterized  as  the  "debating  era"  of  this 
Government.  There  he  found  as  colleagues  Thomas  Hart  Ben- 
ton,  Henry  Clay,  and  Daniel  Webster.  Even  the  names  of 
many  of  the  men  in  public  life  at  that  time  have  passed  from 
recollection,  but  these  great  intellectual  giants  stand  out  pre- 
eminently in  our  history  and  are  known  to  every  schoolboy.  It 
is  not  necessary  to  say  that  as  CALHOUN  had  taken  the  lead  in 
the  House  of  Representatives  in  that  set  of  young  statesmen 
who  brought  on  the  war  of  1812  and  established  our  independ- 
ence upon  the  sea,  in  fact  as  well  as  in  name,  in  the  other  end 
of  the  Capitol  he  was  likewise  among  the  foremost. 

As  I  have  already  said,  he  discussed  all  the  great  questions 
from  1810  to  1850;  and  while  his  life  went  out  as  a  great 
tragedy,  his  place  in  history  is  secure. 

It  is  a  remarkable  coincidence,  Mr.  Speaker,  that  just  a  hun- 
dred years  after  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  was  elected  a  Representative 
in  Congress,  the  people  of  South  Carolina,  through  the  general 
assembly,  accepting  the  invitation  of  Congress  to  place  in  Statu- 
ary Hall  in  bronze  or  marble  the  effigy  of  one  of  her  most  emi- 
nent citizens,  has  sent  to  this  place  the  immaculate  CALHOUN. 
Pure,  white,  and  spotless  as  is  the  marble  statue  which  was  this 
day  unveiled,  it  is  not  whiter,  it  is  not  purer,  it  is  not  more  spot- 
less than  was  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  as  he  tabernacled  in  the  flesh. 
[Applause.] 

And  so,  Mr.  Speaker,  South  Carolina  presents  to  the  American 
people  in  lasting,  enduring  form,  the  statue  of  her  greatest  citizen; 
and  as  I  heard  an  eminent  scholar  in  another  body  say  to-day, 
that  of  itself  is  no  small  compliment,  for  in  war  or  in  peace  she 


Address  of  Mr.  Johnson,  of  South  Carolina     63 

has  always  occupied  a  conspicuous  place  in  our  history.  She 
presented  in  1810,  arid  has  presented  in  every  period  of  our 
history,  some  of  the  most  eminent  men  in  the  life  of  the  Republic. 

Mr.  Speaker,  I  have  not  the  time  to  dwell  upon  and  develop 
the  thought,  but  I  wish  to  mention  it  in  passing,  that  South 
Carolina  has  come  to  be  the  greatest  cotton  manufacturing  State 
in  the  Union  save  Massachusetts;  but  the  protection  sentiment 
in  that  State  is  negligible.  What  an  eloquent  tribute  is  this 
to  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  ! 

Take  our  greatest  and  most  eminent  citizen  in  spotless  marble 
as  the  heritage  of  all  the  people,  and  let  his  pure  life  be  an 
inspiration  to  pure  living  and  high  thinking.  [Applause.] 


Address  of  Mr.  McCall,  of  Massachusetts 
jd 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  Statuary  Hall  is,  somewhat  ambitiously,  I 
think,  often  called  our  national  Pantheon,  where  a.  place  is 
given  to  the  statues  of  the  great  men  of  the  Nation.  The 
collection  doubtless  belongs  to  the  Nation,  but  in  no  other 
sense  except  in  a  peculiar  one  can  it  be  called  a  national  gal- 
lery. The  selections  are  made  by  no  national  authority,  but  by 
the  separate  States,  which  are  given  the  equal  right  to  choose 
two  men  whose  statues  shall  appear  there.  The  hall  is  thus 
primarily  a  gallery  for  the  States,  and  that  fact  must  be  borne 
clearly  in  mind  in  order  to  understand  the  meaning  of  the  col- 
lection. The  States  have  usually  done  themselves  justice,  and, 
with  very  few  exceptions,  have  made  the  best  selections  they 
could  make,  but  as  they  are  far  from  equal  in  fertility  as 
mothers  of  great  men  it  is  inevitable  that  there  will  be  far 
greater  men  not  represented  in  the  collection  than  some  of  those 
who  are  there.  Virginia,  for  instance,  is  a  very  nurse  of  lions. 
She  has  already  presented  her  two  statues,  and  yet,  if  she 
were  given  the  right  to  add  to  the  number,  she  has  in  reserve 
Patrick  Henry  and  Thomas  Jefferson  and  John  Marshall  and 
James  Madison,  any  one  of  whom  many  of  the  States  would 
be  proud  to  make  their  first  choice.  It  is  then  a  gallery  of  the 
great  men  of  the  States  rather  than  of  the  Nation. 

But  it  is  fortunate  that  we  have  a  collection  formed  in  this 
way,  because  of  the  breadth  of  the  portrayal  which  it  really 
gives  to  our  history.  Instead  of  witnessing  there  a  single  his- 
torical tone,  as  we  should  if  the  gallery  were  filled  by  the  choice 
of  New  England,  or  the  West,  or  the  South,  or  possibly  by  some 
central  authority,  we  have  the  local  and  sectional  coloring; 

43796°— 10 5  65 


66  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 


the  choice  of  the  different  States  gives  us  a  blending  of  charac- 
ters standing  for  different  and  even  opposite  shades  of  thought, 
and  we  see  there  side  by  side  the  men  out  of  whose  conflicts 
with  each  other  has  been  evolved  the  America  of  to-day.  [Ap- 
plause.] How  vastly  better  and  broader  this  than  to  have  none 
but  safe  and  orthodox  statues  illustrating  a  single  constitu- 
tional school,  statesmen  who  advocated  the  same  doctrines, 
soldiers  who  always  fought  the  same  battles,  with  no  suggestion 
of  the  fierce  internal  struggles  by  which  the  Nation  was  molded. 
Statuary  Hall  thus  has  a  high  value  as  a  gallery  of  history  with 
the  different  sides  of  our  great  struggles  represented.  It  is  per- 
haps too  much  to  hope  that  it  should  also  be  a  gallery  of  art. 

The  pending  resolution  formally  accepts  from  the  State  of 
South  Carolina  the  statue  of  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  and  thanks  the 
State  for  the  gift.  I  think  in  this  gift  that  she  has  done  herself 
full  justice,  and  is  presenting  the  statue  of  her  most  distin- 
guished son,  who  played  a  great  part  in  the  development  or  our 
national  history.  He  was  born  and  educated  in  the  State  and 
was  identified  with  her  throughout  his  whole  life.  For  nearly 
forty  years  he  was  connected  with  the  Government  of  the  Nation 
in  the  most  responsible  positions.  He  held  the  offices  of  Rep- 
resentative and  Senator  from  South  Carolina,  of  Secretary 
of  War  and  of  State,  and  of  Vice-President.  He  was  practi- 
cally in  continuous  service  from  1811  to  1850,  when  he  died  in 
Washington  while  a  Member  of  the  Senate.  In  point  of  intel- 
lect and  in  purity  of  character  he  ranks  among  the  very  greatest 
of  our  statesmen,  and,  although  his  name  is  more  conspicu- 
ously identified  than  any  other  name  with  the  theory  of  nulli- 
fication, a  theory  to  which  his  extraordinary  power  of  logic 
gave  practical  force  as  a  political  principle,  more  than  once  in 
critical  times  he  devoted  himself  to  the  work  of  preventing  a 
rupture  between  the  central  and  the  state  governments  and  of 


Address  of  Mr.  McCall,  of  Massachusetts     67 

maintaining  the  Union.  He  was  throughout  his  whole  life 
devoted  to  his  native  State.  His  first  recollection  was  of  South 
Carolina  as  a  completely  sovereign  republic  except  for  the 
Articles  of  Confederation  which  had  little  or  no  binding  force. 
He  was  nurtured  in  the  idea  that  his  State  was  his  country, 
and  in  his  political  philosophy  his  primary  allegiance  was  to 
her,  and  through  her  he  derived  his  more  remote  and  less  affec- 
tionate relations  with  the  Federal  Government. 

He  was  fortunate  in  his  education,  considering  the  times. 
His  early  boyhood  was  taken  up  with  the  reading  of  a  very  few 
good  books.  For  two  years,  which  seems  to  have  been  almost 
the  entire  time  of  his  schooling  in  South  Carolina,  he  attended 
a  famous  school  which  was  held  in  the  woods  with  the  boys 
living  in  log  cabins  and  farmhouses  nearby,  and  every  morning 
at  sunrise  the  master  would  summon  them  to  work  with  a  blast 
upon  a  hunter's  horn.  He  was  a  serious-minded  boy,  and  re- 
mained of  a  serious  temperament  throughout  his  life. 

His  biographer,  Mr.  Hunt,  tells  us  that  he  rarely  read  poetry, 
and  that  when  he  once  essayed  to  write  some  verses  every 
stanza  began  with  "whereas."  His  two  years  spent  in  Doctor 
Waddell's  school  fitted  him  for  the  junior  class  at  Yale  College, 
from  which,  after  two  more  years  of  study,  he  graduated.  He 
then  took  a  two  years'  course  in  a  law  school  in  Connecticut. 
Thus,  of  six  years  spent  at  school,  he  was  for  four  years  in  the 
North.  We  should  expect  that  his  residence  there  would  have 
affected  his  views  upon  the  great  constitutional  question  with 
which  he  was  afterwards  identified.  And  this  is  not  at  all 
unlikely,  for  the  theories  that  were  kindred  with  nullification 
were  probably  as  rife  at  that  day  in  Connecticut  as  they  were  in 
South  Carolina.  And  there  is  evidence  that  one  of  his  law 
teachers  was  of  opinion  in  1804  that  the  time  had  arrived  for 
New  England  to  separate  from  the  Union. 


68  Statue  of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

When  he  entered  Congress  nearly  all  the  leaders  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary period  had  passed  from  the  stage  and  the  affairs  of 
the  Nation  were  soon  to  be  directed  by  men  of  the  next  genera- 
tion. During  the  next  forty  years  Congress  was  to  be  largely 
dominated  by  three  men — or,  at  least  three  men  stood  out  so 
conspicuously  from  their  associates  as  to  form  a  class  by  them- 
selves; they  were  of  such  heroic  proportions  as  to  cause  us  even 
to  this  day  to  look  back  upon  that  period  of  our  congressional 
history  as  upon  a  golden  age.  CALHOUN  was  one  of  that  trium- 
virate, and  the  others,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  add,  were  Daniel 
Webster  and  Henry  Clay. 

CALHOUN'S  service  at  Washington  divides  itself  into  two 
periods.  From  1811  to  1828  he  was  a  national  statesman.  He 
declared  in  the  House  of  Representatives  that  he  was  not  there 
to  represent  a  State  alone,  but  that  he  would  contend  for  the 
interest  of  the  whole  people.  It  was  a  theory  of  his  at  that 
time  that  the  "Constitution  is  not  a  thesis  for  the  logician  to 
exercise  his  casuistry  on."  He  declared  that  woolen  and  cotton 
manufacturing  should  have  a  moderate  but  permanent  protec- 
tion. In  his  first  term  in  Congress  he  brought  in  the  resolution 
for  war  against  Great  Britain,  a  war  which,  except  for  the 
brilliant  success  of  our  few  ships,  was  neither  a  glorious  nor  a 
decisive  war.  As  Secretary  of  War  he  was  a  member  of  the 
same  Cabinet  as  John  Quincy  Adams,  and  worked  with  that 
critical  statesman  in  a  way  to  gain  his  admiration.  With  the 
possible  exception  of  Henry  Clay,  he  was  as  thoroughgoing  a 
national  statesman  as  could  be  found  in  Washington  during  his 
first  fifteen  years  of  service. 

We  now  come  to  the  second  period  of  his  service,  and  in 
what  I  shall  say  concerning  this  period  I  shall  confine  myself 
to  a  few  observations  upon  the  subject  which  presents  the  most 
important  aspect  of  his  career.  He  was  by  far  the  foremost 


Address  of  Mr.  McCall,  of  Massachusetts     69 

representative  of  the  idea  of  state  sovereignty  and  of  the  right 
of  a  State  to  veto  national  laws,  and  it  is  in  that  relation  that 
he  becomes  a  great  historical  character,  imperishably  associ- 
ated with  the  overshadowing  constitutional  struggle  of  our 
history.  His  position  upon  this  issue  was  first  clearly  apparent 
in  1828.  The  operation  of  the  protective  tariff  had  proved  bur- 
densome to  South  Carolina,  which  was  almost  purely  an  agri- 
cultural State,  with  a  system  of  slave  labor  unfavorable  to  the 
development  of  manufactures.  Extreme  hostility  to  the  tariff 
led,  under  the  loosely  formed  constitutional  notions  of  that 
time,  to  the  development  of  the  nullification  programme. 

CALHOUN  found  a  sentiment  of  opposition  to  this  unpopular 
law  widely  prevalent  in  his  State,  and  was  influenced  by  it,  but 
that  alone  was  not  responsible  for  his  position.  He  believed  the 
State  to  be  sovereign.  Our  history  at  that  time  was  full  of 
instances,  which  might  serve  him  as  precedents,  where  the 
authority  of  the  Central  Government,  as  against  the  States,  had 
been  questioned.  The  Virginia  resolutions,  which  had  been 
drawn  by  Madison,  one  of  the  fathers  of  the  Constitution;  the 
Kentucky  resolutions,  which  were  the  work  of  Jefferson;  the 
proceedings  of  the  Hartford  convention,  which  had  been  par- 
ticipated in  by  nearly  all  of  the  New  England  States,  gave  basis 
for  the  claim  that  the  States  might  nullify  an  unconstitutional 
law  of  the  Nation.  CALHOUN  attempted  to  justify  the  attitude 
of  his  State  in  its  hostility  to  a  national  law,  and  drew  up  the 
famous  Exposition  of  1828,  which  strongly  asserted  the  doctrine 
of  nullification  and  attempted  to  give  it  constitutional  form. 

He  declared  that  each  State  might  nullify  a  national  law 
which  it  regarded  as  in  violation  of  the  Constitution,  and  that 
the  State  itself  was  the  judge  whether  a  law  was.  constitutional 
or  not.  It  is  probable  that  at  that  moment  CALHOUN  was  rather 
a  follower  than  a  leader,  and  that  he  reluctantly  accepted  an 


yo  Statue   of   Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

opinion  that  was  rapidly  acquiring  revolutionary  force.  The 
State  definitely  took  its  place  as  the  leader  of  nullification,  and 
there  was  never  afterwards  within  her  borders  a  real  division 
upon  that  question.  The  court  of  appeals,  which  held  the 
official  oath  unconstitutional  because  it  did  not  include  the 
National  Constitution,  was  legislated  out  of  existence,  and  the 
great  Union  leaders  were  driven  into  exile  and  identified  them- 
selves with  other  States. 

CALHOUN  resigned  the  Vice-Presidency  and  took  his  seat  in 
the  Senate  in  December,  1832,  and  in  the  following  February  he 
made  perhaps  his  most  remarkable  speech,  occupying  two  days, 
in  which  he  amplified  the  doctrine  of  nullification  with  a  re- 
markable power  of  statement  and  analysis  and  with  an  intense 
and  remorseless  logic,  pressing  to  conclusions  from  which  it 
appears  difficult  to  escape,  but  from  which  one  instinctively 
recoils.  He  declared  that  the  Constitution  was  a  compact  be- 
tween the  States,  which  remained  sovereign,  and  that  the 
Central  Government  possessed  none  of  the  attributes  of  sov- 
ereignty, but  only  exercised  powers  delegated  to  it  by  the 
States;  and  that  upon  the  question  whether  the  National  Gov- 
ernment had  encroached  upon  the  reserved  rights  of  the  State, 
the  latter  alone  was  the  rightful  judge.  He  argued  that  to  per- 
mit the  National  Government  to  decide  finally  upon  the  con- 
stitutionality of  its  own  laws  would  be  ultimately  to  destroy  the 
States.  Yet  in  its  practical  effect  it  was  clear  that  his  doc- 
•  trine  that  the  States  were  the  rightful  judges  of  the  constitu- 
tionality of  national  laws,  which  they  assumed  the  power  to 
nullify,  would  as  effectively  destroy  the  National  Government  or 
reduce  it  to  a  mere  shadow.  To  this  speech  a  reply  was  imme- 
diately made  by  Webster,  who  showed  the  chaos  that  would 
result  from  the  application  of  the  theory,  and  who  maintained 
that  the  basis  of  the  National  Government  was  not  a  compact, 


Address  of  Mr.  McCall,  of  Massachusetts     71 


but  a  Constitution  binding  all  the  States  and  the  people  within 
its  sphere  and  forming  a  Union  which  revolution  alone  could 
overthrow. 

The  theory  of  nullification,  however,  had  received  in  the 
speech  of  Hayne  in  the  Senate  its  most  popular  presentation 
while  CALHOUN  was  yet  Vice-President,  but  after  South  Carolina 
had  adopted  the  exposition  which  codified  it  and  for  the  first 
time  gave  it  a  definite  form.  That  speech  was  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  in  the  annals  of  our  Congress.  It  was  not  so  philo- 
sophical nor  so  closely  reasoned  as  were  CALHOUN'S  speeches, 
but  it  presented  the  theory  with  great  force,  and  it  contained  a 
slashing  attack  upon  New  England  and  upon  some  of  her  public 
men.  It  was  a  brilliant  fighting  speech,  worthy  of  the  place  it 
holds  in  our  greatest  debate.  Hayne  rendered  his  country  a  real 
practical  service  in  the  personal  and  sectional  passages  of  his 
speech,  because  they  served  as  a  whip  to  arouse  the  combative 
instincts  of  one  of  the  statesmen  of  New  England.  Daniel  Web- 
ster was  then  a  Member  of  the  Senate.  He  doubtless  would 
have  made  a  great  constitutional  argument  if  he  had  been  at- 
tempting to  reply  to  a  coldly  constitutional  and  logical  speech, 
such  as  CALHOUN  would  have  made,  for  Webster  had  at  that 
time  won  the  place  which  he  held  unchallenged  for  a  quarter  of  a 
century  as  the  leader  of  the  American  bar.  But  the  dashing 
personal  and  sectional  attack  which  Hayne  had  delivered  moved 
the  large  and  somewhat  sluggish  nature  of  Webster  to  some- 
thing more  than  a  constitutional  argument.  It  thoroughly 
awakened  him  and  kindled  his  passion  so  that  while  his  reply 
vindicated  the  cause  of  the  Union  and  the  supremacy  of  the 
National  Constitution  with  amazing  power,  it  did  much  more. 
It  glowed  with  the  warmth  of  passion,  it  displayed  a  superb 
irony  and  invective;  in  the  declamatory  passages  it  spread  out 
the  colors  of  a  gorgeous  rhetoric;  in  brief,  it  presented  the  great 


72  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 


argument  in  a  popular  form,  something  that  gave  it  much  of 
the  tremendous  influence  which  it  was  destined  to  exert  in 
molding  popular  opinion.  This  speech  planted  the  idea  of  na- 
tionality broadcast,  and  it  was  time  that  that  was  done.  There 
was  scarcely  a  school  boy  in  the  North  in  the  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury before  the  civil  war  who  did  not  declaim  it.  It  built  up,  if 
it  did  not  create,  the  sentiment  of  nationality.  Much  has  been 
said  about  the  decisive  battles  of  the  world.  One  needs  to  be 
cautious  in  using  the  superlative,  but  I  think  it  can  at  least 
fairly  be  said  that  this  speech  of  Webster's  is  one  of  the  very 
few  decisive  speeches  of  the  world,  and  that  it  is  largely  due 
to  it  that  the  cause  of  Union  finally  triumphed. 

The  oratorical  duel  to  which  I  have  referred  between  CALHOUN 
and  Webster  in  1833,  while  not  so  dramatic  nor  of  nearly  so 
popular  a  character  as  the  debate  between  Webster  and  Hayne, 
gave  the  most  complete  discussion  of  the  question  that  it  ever 
received.  While  much  was  afterwards  spoken  upon  the  subject, 
but  little,  if  anything,  was  added  to  the  argument. 

CALHOUN  died  in  1850.  There  was  after  all  a  warm  spot  in 
his  heart  for  the  Union,  and  in  the  last  days  of  his  life  he  was 
struggling  to  compromise  the  situation  and  to  keep  the  Union 
running,  although  he  was  profoundly  pessimistic  as  to  the  out- 
come. At  the  same  time,  Webster  was  setting  the  Union  above 
everything  else  and  alienating  many  of  his  friends  at  home  by 
the  sacrifices  which  he  was  willing  to  make  for  it.  Neither  of 
them  lived  to  witness  the  final  appeal  to  the  tribunal  of  war. 
That  tribunal  rendered  a  decree,  the  justice  and  wisdom  of 
which  are  beyond  question,  in  favor  of  nationality,  and  it 
decreed  also  that  as  we  have  an  indestructible  Union,  so,  in  the 
lofty  language  of  the  Supreme  Court,  spoken  since  the  civil  war, 
it  is  an  indestructible  Union  of  indestructible  States.  [Applause.] 
Unless  by  new  amendments  the  powers  of  the  National  Govern- 


Address  of  Mr.  McCall,  of  Massachusetts     73 

ment  can  be  augmented  only  by  usurpation,  which  would  be  no 
less  repugnant  to  Webster's  constitutional  theory  than  was 
nullification  itself.  There  is  danger  that  we  may  forget  the 
fundamental  importance  of  maintaining  the  balance  established 
between  the  States  and  the  National  Government.  Undoubt- 
edly the  tendency  of  our  time  has  been  toward  the  absorption 
by  the  National  Government  of  the  reserved  powers  of  the 
States.  We  are  tugging  at  the  fetters  of  our  written  Constitu- 
tion as  at  a  chain,  and  by  a  species  of  governmental  hypocrisy 
we  have  more  than  once  pretended  to  exercise  a  power  which  is 
granted  in  order  really  to  wield  some  power  which  is  not  granted. 
It  is  for  us  to  see  to  it  that  the  system,  which  secures  Union 
while  it  safeguards  liberty,  and  which  war  and  argument  have 
done  their  best  to  establish,  shall  not  be  disturbed  by  state  nul- 
lification on  the  one  hand  nor  by  national  usurpation  on  the 
other.  [Applause.] 

But  we  of  to-day  are  separated  from  their  time  by  one  of  the 
most  colossal  of  wars.  While  they  had  their  fears,  they  did 
not  know  what  was  to  come.  They  were  struggling  in  a  peace- 
ful forum  for  the  conflicting  views  of  our  system.  And  as  the 
realism  of  art  perpetuates  the  past  and  projects  it  vividly  into 
the  present,  so  in  a  hall  in  this  Capitol,  which  more  than  once 
rang  with  their  eloquence,  the  foremost  champion  of  nullifica- 
tion and  the  great  defender  of  the  Union  may  still  be  seen  con- 
tending with  each  other  and  fighting  over  again  in  marble  the 
great  battle  of  the  Constitution.  [Loud  applause.] 


Address  of  Mr.  Lever,  of  South  Carolina 
J> 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  Tender  as  a  mother  in  solitary  vigil  over  her 
first  born,  for  more  than  half  a  century  the  State  of  his  nativity 
has  kept  loving  watch  over  the  sepulchered  ashes  of  her  most 
illustrious  citizen.  For  forty  years  she  intrusted  him  with  a 
confidence  akin  to  idolatry,  and  the  vicissitudes  of  two  genera- 
tions of  men  and  measures  have  not  sufficed  to  lessen  that 
veneration  nor  to  bring  disloyalty  to  his  memory.  His  influ- 
ence upon  the  standard  of  political  morality  and  official  purity 
in  his  State  is  as  vital  to-day  as  when  he  drew  the  drapery  of 
his  couch  about  him  and  laid  down  to  pleasant  dreams. 

The  auspicious  events  of  this  day,  recording  the  verdict  of 
exact  and  impartial  history,  mark  the  consummation  of  tribute 
of  a  reunioned  people.  The  Nation,  removed  from  the  bitter- 
ness, strife,  and  misunderstanding  of  his  distinguished  activi- 
ties, here  welcome  the  opportunity  to  join  South  Carolina  in 
canceling  a  long-standing  debt  of  gratitude,  in  paying  proper 
homage  to  his  loyal  and  unselfish  patriotism.  The  Nation 
honors  itself;  the  fame  of  JOHN  CALDWELL  CALHOUN,  always 
secure,  now  happily  commands  its  national  recognition. 

Our  Hall  of  Fame,  filled  with  the  testimonials  of  a  people's 
love  and  gratitude  to  their  great  dead,  holds  none  which  de- 
serves them  more  than  that  unveiled  to-day.  No  encomium 
the  Nation  may  pay  to  him  can  compensate  for  the  life  he 
devoted  to  her  service.  The  matchless  probity  of  his  imperial 
character,  his  undoubted  love  for  the  institutions  of  his  coun- 
try, are  a  lesson  and  an  inspiration  inestimable  in  influence 

75 


76  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

upon  generations  yet  to  come.  To  quote  the  measured  lan- 
guage of  Mr.  Webster,  his  greatest  compeer,  Mr.  Calhoun  was 
"a  man  of  undoubted  genius  and  commanding  intellect,  of 
unspotted  integrity,  of  unimpeached  honor."  "He  has  lived 
long  enough,  he  has  done  enough,  and  he  has  done  it  so  well, 
so  successfully,  so  honorably,  as  to  connect  himself  for  all  time 
with  the  records  of  his  country."  Aye,  in  truth,  his  endeavors 
alone  have  builded  a  monument  imposing  beyond  the  power  of 
man  to  devise.  His  other  great  compeer,  Mr.  Clay,  refers  to 
his  "transcendent  talents;  clear,  concise,  compact  logic;  his 
felicity  in  generalization  surpassed  by  none."  In  like  vein 
spoke  all  of  his  great  contemporaries,  each  eulogizing  him  as  a 
man  of  spotless  character,  unsurpassed  genius,  unalloyed  devo- 
tion to  duty  and  country.  Mr.  Elaine,  himself  the  most  daz- 
zling political  leader  of  his  time,  in  his  admirable  work,  Twenty 
Years  of  Congress,  pays  him  the  tribute,  "History  will  adjudge 
him  to  have  been  single-hearted  and  honest  in  his  political 
creed."  "His  life  was  eminently  pure,  his  career  exceptional, 
his  fame  established  beyond  the  reach  of  calumny,  beyond 
the  power  of  detraction."  This  prophecy  is  fulfilled;  history 
has  adjudged;  its  decree  is  writ;  imperishable  is  the  fame  of  the 
great  South  Carolinian !  [Applause.] 

The  most  vital  period  in  a  nation's  history — a  nation  whose 
institutions  rest  upon  written  constitutions — is  that  which  may 
be  called  "the  period  of  interpretation."  In  the  annals  of  time 
no  assemblage  of  men  contained  more  w:sdom,  more  devoted 
patriotism,  more  comprehensive  reach  into  the  future  than  that 
which  framed  our  Federal  Constitution.  Even  it  builded  wiser 
than  it  knew.  A  broader,  more  pregnant,  and  all-embracing 
instrument  was  never  conceived  in  the  wisdom  of  mankind. 
Out  of  it  has  grown  the  glory  of  the  Nation  and  upon  it  is 
predicated  her  greatness  for  the  future.  This  "the  work  of  the 


Address  of  Mr.  Lever,  of  South  Carolina     77 

ages,  chief  classic  in  the  literature  of  freedom,"  stands  without 
parallel  in  the  history  of  human  government  as  man's  greatest 
work  for  freedom  of  men.  [Applause.] 

The  inherent  potentiality  of  a  written  instrument  is  measured 
by  the  wisdom  of  its  interpretation.  As  through  the  centuries 
the  destiny  of  England  has  been  shapen  in  her  traditions  the 
course  of  these  United  States  is  mapped  in  the  interpretation 
of  its  written  Constitution.  The  searchlights  of  ships,  breaking 
the  gloom  of  the  trackless  deep,  point  the  pathway  of  safety; 
interpretation,  illuminating  the  dark,  pathless  way  of  the  ship  of 
state,  marks  her  course  for  weal  or  woe. 

The  interpreters  of  the  Constitution  have  exerted  an  influence 
greater,  certainly  not  less,  than  its  framers  in  determining  the 
character  of  our  institutions.  Free  government  is  a  growth, 
a  development,  a  process  of  evolution,  the  resultant  of  wise  in- 
terpretations as  well  as  correct  and  sound  fundamentals.  The 
Constitution  was  but  dumb,  unliving  parchment  until  touched 
by  the  genius  of  interpretation.  In  hallowing  the  sages  who 
wrought  it  into  form  let  us  not  forget  the  services  of  the  philoso- 
phers and  prophets  whose  transcendent  intellectualities  infused 
into  it  life  and  power  by  the  masterful  sagacity  of  their  inter- 
pretations.. 

During  this  period,  the  building  upon  the  foundation,  the 
transition  stage,  the  most  perilous  of  all  others,  the  rock  fatal 
in  the  career  of  republics,  the  combat  of  giants,  the  charge  and 
recoil  of  master  spirits,  the  sons  of  South  Carolina  shone  bright- 
est in  the  firmament  of  national  ideals  and  carried  her  flag 
farthest  to  the  front  in  the  field  of  thought  and  influence. 
No  State  of  this  Union  ever  contributed,  at  any  one  time,  a 
greater  array  of  brilliant  leaders  than  did  South  Carolina,  in 
her  William  Lowndes,  Langdon  Cheves,  Robert  Y.  Hayne, 
William  C.  Preston,  George  McDuffie,  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 


78  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

[Applause.]  Great  as  were  all  these  great  characters,  power- 
ful as  was  the  impress  of  each  upon  the  thought  of  his  age, 
popular  in  State  and  Nation  as  they  were,  preeminent  in  learn- 
ing and  eloquence,  devoted  and  unswerving  to  country  and  a 
high  sense  of  duty,  Mr.  CALHOUN  stands  above  and  beyond 
them  all  in  the  completeness  of  his  character,  the  fullness  of 
his  wisdom,  the  matchless  splendor  of  his  mind.  In  moral  and 
intellectual  grandeur  he  was  without  peer  among  all  these 
great  men,  whose  brilliant  accomplishments  have  brought  so 
rich  a  luster  to  the  history  of  South  Carolina. 

From  his  entrance  into  her  legislature  to  the  day  of  his 
death  his  power  in  the  State  was  substantially  absolute.  Her 
destiny  she  willingly  committed  to  his  keeping.  And  out  of 
this  arose  the  charge  that  his  predominance  in  her  affairs  had 
crushed  the  spirit  of  her  independence,  moving  the  celebrated 
ex-Governor  Perry  to  say: 

I  thought,  after  the  death  of  Mr.  CALHOUN  the  people  of  South  Caro- 
lina could  think  more  independently. 

What  higher  tribute  can  be  paid  any  force  of  character  or 
power  of  intellectuality  than  to  admit  they  held  so  complete 
and  welcomed  mastery  over  so  proud  and  independent  a  people ! 

The  power  of  Mr.  CALHOUN  in  the  State  was  the  indirect 
effect  of  his  commanding  preeminence  in  the  affairs  of  the 
Nation.  It  was  in  this  forum  that  his  great  wisdom,  his  won- 
derfully acute  analytical  powers,  his  marvelous  grasp  of  public 
questions,  his  prophetic  vision,  his  personal  and  political  integ- 
rity, gave  him  a  place  enjoyed  by  few — surpassed  by  none — in 
this  most  important  pivotal  period  of  interpretation.  From 
his  advent  into  the  national  arena  until  the  close  of  his  momen- 
tous life,  the  impress  of  his  mighty  mind,  in  conjunction  with 
those  only  who  ever  approached  him  in  intellectual  force  and 
influence — Webster,  Clay,  and  Benton — stamped  itself  upon 
every  page  of-  the  history  of  that  period. 


Address  of  Mr.  Lever,  of  South  Carolina     79 

CALHOUN,  Webster,  Clay,  Benton,  each  greater,  each  'less 
than  the  other,  this  roll  call  sounds  the  depth  of  the  Nation's 
intellectual  pride.  [Applause.]  The  legislative  history  of 
civilization  fails  to  furnish  a  quartette  comparable  with  this  in 
the  variety  of  its  talents,  the  magnitude  of  its  genius,  the  wis- 
dom of  its  leadership,  and  the  clearness  of  its  prophecy.  Eng- 
land's masterful  triumvirate — Burke,  Fox,  Pitt — measured  by 
the  standard  of  comparative  abilities  and  attainments,  must 
give  place  to  our  more  masterful  four. 

In  no  other  country  has  any  like  combination  of  men  com- 
manded a  firmer  grip  upon  or  a  more  thorough  conception  of 
the  problems  of  the  present,  nor  exerted  upon  those  of  the 
future  a  greater  or  more  lasting  influence.  During  all  their 
long  service  none  arose  powerful  enough  to  dispute  their  dom- 
inancy  in  the  forum  of  their  activity.  In  this  field  they  were 
supreme,  all-powerful,  overshadowing  every  other  and  all 
others — history's  greatest  Senators.  Here  they  were  the 
embodiment  of  the  thought,  policies,  ambitions,  and  prophe- 
cies of  the  Nation.  Their  lives  are  the  history  of  that  genera- 
tion; their  philosophy,  teachings,  and  interpretations  the 
bases  upon  which  the  institutions  of  government  rest  even  to 
this  day. 

Of  this  splendid  galaxy,  this  inseparable  quartette  of  political 
philosophers,  none  eradiated  a  more  conspicuous  and  constant 
brilliancy  than  Mr.  CALHOUN.  It  is  true  he  did  not  possess  the 
enormous  knowledge  of  Mr.  Benton,  nor  the  highly  developed 
perception  and  penetration  of  Mr.  Clay,  nor  the  rich  imagery 
and  almost  divine  prophecy  of  Mr.  Webster;  but  in  the  domain 
of  speculative  philosophy  and  metaphysics  he  was  greater  than 
all  combined.  He  was  not  so  practical  as  Mr.  Benton,  nor  so 
dashing  a  parliamentary  leader  as  Mr.  Clay,  nor  so  incompa- 
rable an  orator  as  Mr.  Webster;  but  as  a  logician  he  is  unrivaled 
among  the  sons  of  men. 


80  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

Mr.  CALHOUN  was  not  a  great  orator.  He  was  a  great  speaker 
and  an  unerring  analyst.  He  addressed  the  intellect,  not  the 
emotion.  The  marked  characteristic  of  his  mind  was  its  power 
of  analysis,  a  faculty  which  when  fully  developed  constitutes 
the  highest  order  of  human  genius.  His  was  not  the  meteoric 
genius  that  dazzles  only  to  blind,  but  the  kind  which  resolves 
abstrusest  problems  into  simplest  elements.  No  mind  was 
ever  better  equipped  for  the  peculiar  task  which  engaged  it 
than  was  his  in  unfolding  the  novelty  of  an  untried  democracy. 
The  paucity  of  precedents  of  that  day  forced  its  statesmanship 
upon  its  own  resources  and  opened  the  most  inviting  field  for 
the  philosopher  and  the  metaphysician.  The  Constitution  gave 
only  general  principles  to  be  resolved  into  their  constituent 
parts,  each  to  be  applied  to  existing  circumstances.  The 
wisest  and  most  original  thinker  could  only  speculate  as  to  the 
results.  It  was  the  period  of  interpretation,  the  especial  field 
of  the  analyst. 

The  stage  setting,  actors,  the  drama  itself,  conspired  to  pro- 
voke the  fullest  exercise  of  Mr.  CALHOUN'S  characteristic 
talents,  and  he  played  the  role  of  interpreter  as  no  man  in  our 
history  ever  played  it  save  Mr.  Webster  alone.  Mr.  Webster 
did  not  excel  him.  Upon  the  intricate  questions  of  this  time, 
so  full  of  complexities,  he  brought  to  bear  his  great  power  of 
simplification,  direct  thinking,  resistless  deduction,  sustained 
concentration.  In  such  circumstances  his  power  of  reasoning, 
of  breaking  the  mass  of  things  into  self-evident  first  principles, 
of  bringing  order  out  of  chaos,  of  illuminating  for  others,  with 
the  mighty  light  of  his  own  intellectuality,  the  dark  and  appar- 
ent impenetrable,  gave  him  first  rank  among  the  master  minds 
of  this  important  epoch. 

It  was  this  power  of  concentration,  this  ability  to  see  beyond 
the  intervening  rubbish  the  one  object  for  investigation,  this 
almost  superhuman  directness  of  perception,  that  was  his  great- 


Address  of  Mr.  Lever,  of  South  Carolina     81 


est  strength  and  yet  his  greatest  weakness.  In  the  telescopic 
operations  of  his  great  mind,  the  subtle  precision  of  his  reason- 
ing, the  complete  absorption  of  all  his  faculties  in  the  subject 
of  immediate  investigation,  it  is  said,  caused  him  at  times  to 
overlook  the  present  correlated  influences  or  to  appreciate  their 
ultimate  effect  upon  the  practical  results  of  his  final  conclu- 
sions. Within  the  limits  of  his  vision  he  was  without  peer; 
but  it  is  asserted  that  the  safety  of  his  leadership  and  the 
soundness  of  his  theories  were  impaired  by  the  narrowness  of 
that  vision. 

He  saw  the  ship  of  state  swinging  down  the  encliffed  channel 
of  the  future,  saw  it  with  a  clearness  approaching  the  super- 
natural; saw  the  placid  waters  upon  which  it  floated;  saw  the 
hidden  rocks,  the  dangerous  shoals,  the  roaring  cataract;  saw 
them  as  no  other  man  of  his  time  saw  them,  and  devoted  his 
energies,  his  wonderful  powers,  his  life  itself,  to  giving  her  safe 
voyage.  For  him  the  Constitution  had  marked  that  channel, 
for  him  the  Constitution  was  that  ship's  compass;  beyond  that 
he  could  not  and  did  not  see — the  pilotage  of  none  other  would 
he  trust.  In  his  own  language,  "To  restrict  the  powers  of  this 
Government  within  the  rigid  limits  prescribed  by  the  Constitu- 
tion," this  was  the  chart  of  his  interpretation,  the  embodiment 
of  his  attitude.  By  this  he  followed  his  course,  formulated  his 
policies,  directed  his  activities,  predicated  his  prophecies.  All 
other  considerations  were  subservient;  to  keep  "within  the  rigid 
limits  prescribed  by  the  Constitution"  was  the  supremest 
thought  of  his  mind,  the  dearest  object  of  his  heart.  If  to  fol- 
low the  teachings  of  the  fathers  is  weakness,  who  but  glories 
in  the  charge. 

"The  rigid  limits  prescribed  by  the  Constitution" — words  how 
full  of  meaning,  how  pregnant  with  the  combat  of  master  minds, 
with  history,  with  destiny  itself!  They  hold  the  long,  illustrious 
life  story  of  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  They  contain  his  doctrine  of 

437960— 10 6 


82  Statue  of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 


nullification — the  word  he  wished  inscribed  upon  his  tomb — 
they  comprise  the  tragic  events  of  secession;  they  embody  the 
doctrine  of  States  rights,  which  yet  lives  in  its  virgin  strength, 
shedding  its  beneficent  influences  upon  the  statesmanship  of  this 
generation.  To  him  these  words  meant  liberty,  union,  and  the 
Constitution,  one  and  inseparable,  if  that  might  be;  but  liberty 
and  the  Constitution  inseparable  forever. 

To  the  preservation  of  these  he  concentrated  his  abilities  with 
a  devoutness  bordering  upon  fanaticism.  Considerations  of  self 
were  buried  in  the  unflinching  struggle.  Ambition  was  sacrificed 
upon  the  altar  of  principle  to  keep  intact  and  pure  these  price- 
less jewels.  In  the  zeal  of  his  guardianship  is  found  explana- 
tion for  the  seeming  inconsistencies  of  his  career.  Viewed  in 
the  light  of  this  indisputable  history,  the  mists  of  misunder- 
standing, which  for  two  generations  have  dimmed  the  splendor 
of  his  character,  begin  to  roll  away  and  unveil  him  to  us  the 
purest,  most  unselfish,  most  devoted  patriot. 

A  course  moved  by  such  ends  necessarily  brought  maledic- 
tions upon  him  and  necessitated  that  independence  of  party 
trammels  which  have  made  those  who  love  a  man  admire  him 
most.  He  refused  to  bow  to  the  caprice  of  unthinking  constitu- 
encies, ready  at  all  times  to  relinquish  his  commission  to  those 
whom  he  honored  to  represent.  Others  might  compromise  their 
convictions  for  the  commendation  of  the  hour,  others  might 
swerve  from  the  path  of  duty  to  avoid  its  dangers,  others 
might  flee  from  the  wrath  of  public  opinion,  others  might  be 
deaf  to  the  pleadings  of  the  seers,  others  might  quail  before  the 
lightning  flash  of  the  hastening  storm,  others  might  temporize 
and  hesitate,  but  not  this  man  of  rugged'  courage  and  iron 
independence. 

He,  like  a  solid  rock  by  seas  inclosed, 
To  raging  winds  and  roaring  waves  exposed, 
From  his  proud  summit  looking  down  disdains 
Their  empty  menace,  and  unmoved  remains. 

[Applause.] 


Address  of  Mr.  Lever,  of  South  Carolina     83 

Upon  his  monument,  in  historic  St.  Phillip's  Churchyard  are 
engraven  the  words,  "Truth,  Justice,  and  the  Constitution." 
Fittingly  they  comprehend  the  ideals  for  which  he  wrought.  In 
his  toilsome  pursuit  of  them,  he  disdained  the  allurements  of 
ambition,  scorned  the  groveling  practices  of  smaller  men, 
endured  without  murmur  the  darts  of  misunderstanding,  the 
shafts  of  misrepresentation,  and  the  malignant  arrows  of  fanat- 
ical hate.  Unawed  and  unmoved  by  the  fury  of  conflicting 
ideals,  unterrified  by  the  menace  of  lowering  clouds,  unseduced 
by  the  beckoning  hand  of  preferment,  he  strode  forward,  some- 
times the  popular  idol,  sometimes  alone,  always  self-reliant  in 
the  strength  of  his  mighty  gianthood— the  defender  of  truth, 
the  champion  of  justice,  the  protagonist  of  a  strict  and  literal 
interpretation  of  the  Constitution.  [Loud  applause.] 


Address  of  Mr.  Ellerbe.  of  South  Carolina 
,* 

Mr.  SPEAKER  :  The  occasion  which  has  to-day  brought  together 
this  concourse  of  patriotic  citizens  is  one  which  has  found  its 
precedent  in  history,  from  the  first  gray  dawn  of  civilization 
down  to  the  present  day. 

Excavators  have  discovered  on  the  banks  of  the  Tigris,  where 
they  have  been  buried  for  ages,  slabs  of  alabaster  which  ex- 
hibit in  relief  the  forms  and  faces  of  the  men  who  governed 
the  East  in  that  remote  period. 

It  has  been  the  custom  of  most  nations  to  erect  bronze  or 
marble  statues  in  commemoration  of  their  great  men. 

There  is  the  fond  desire,  always  in  the  hearts  of  the  living,  to 
perpetuate  the  forms  of  those  who  have  been  distinguished  in 
the  service  of  God  and  man,  or  of  those  whose  hearts  have 
beat  in  unison  with  our  own,  and  we  seek  to  express  this  de- 
sire in  the  immortality  of  art. 

The  great  Carolinian,  to  honor  whom  we  come  to-day,  sleeps 
in  his  own  loved  Dixie.  The  stately  pines  lift  their  heads 
proudly  around  his  tomb  and  whisper  to  each  other  the  story 
of  his  pure  and  patriotic  life.  His  fame  is  secure,  for  it  is 
guarded  by  his  own  good  works.  We  know  that  we  can  add 
nothing  to  that  fame,  for — 

His  grandeur  he  derived  from  Heaven  alone, 
For  he  was  great  ere  fortune  made  him  so; 
And  strifes,  like  mists  that  rise  against  the  sun, 
Made  him  but  greater  seem — not  greater  grow. 

[Applause.] 

85 


86  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 


But  the  spontaneous  love  of  southern  hearts  has  placed  this 
statue  in  the  halls  which  have  echoed  to  the  words  of  his  elo- 
quence, because  they  desire  to  have  their  children  and  their 
children's  children  know  how  South  Carolina  loves  and  honors 
her  greatest  son.  [Applause.] 

JOHN    C.  CALHOUN 

This  is  not  the  hour  in  which  to  measure  his  labors  or  inter- 
pret his  ideas.  Looking  back  through  the  years  we  realize  that 
his  large  experience  and  broad  forecast  gave  him  notice  of 
national  dangers,  as  the  wires  of  the  telegraph  flash  news  of 
startling  import  unknown  to  the  slumbering  villages  through 
which  they  pass. 

With  CALHOUN  there  was  never  a  thought  of  self.  His  great 
heart  was  filled  to  overflowing  with  love  of  his  State,  and  with- 
out hesitation  he  gave  up  the  second,  and  surrendered  all  hope 
of  the  first,  office  in  the  country  to  defend  South  Carolina  in 
her  solitary  attitude  of  opposition  to  protective  policy.  [Ap- 
plause.] 

The  grandeur  of  his  intellect,  the  purity  of  his  patriotism, 
and  the  blamelessness  of  his  life  were  appreciated  fully  by  his 
great  rivals  in  the  Senate,  and  his  glory  only  shines  the  brighter 
in  conjunction  with  those  rivals. 

CALHOUN,  Clay,  and  Webster,  what  a  triumvirate!  Everett 
says: 

They  can  but  be  named  in  alphabetical  order;  what  other  precedence 
could  be  given  them?  CAUHOUN,  the  great  thinker;  Clay,  the  great 
leader;  Webster,  the  great  orator. 

Distance  can  not  destroy  nor  time  diminish  the  simple  splen- 
dor of  CALHOUN'S  life.  It  shines,  and  is  a  guidance  to  admiring 
posterity. 

And  now,  when  the  grateful  task  of  placing  here  this  statue 
is  complete,  we  hand  it  over  as  a  gift  to  the  Nation. 


Address  of  Mr.  Ellerbe,  of  South  Carolina     87 

The  stranger  approaching  this  sacred  spot  shall  linger  and 
gaze  upon  the  form  of  South  Carolina's  greatest  son,  and  shall 
realize  that  he  still  lives  in  the  heart  of  his  people  and  the  his- 
tory of  his  State.  [Applause.] 

•     May  this  statue  stand  firmly  upon  its  pedestal  as  long  as  the 
Dome  of  the  Capitol  rises  in  grandeur  above  it. 

May  it  inspire  in  youthful  hearts  the  desire  to  give  the  best 
that  is  in  them  to  the  service  of  their  country,  even  as  did  JOHN 
C.  CALHOUN.  [Loud  applause.] 


Address  of  Mr.  Lamb,  of  Virginia 


Mr.  SPEAKER:  CALHOUN'S  speech  in  reply  to  Webster,  delivered 
in  the  Senate  on  the  26th  of  February,  1833,  was  never  answered. 
Mr.  Webster  followed  with  a  few  remarks,  expressing  kind  feel- 
ing for  Mr.  CALHOUN  —  for  it  is  well  known  that  their  personal 
relations  were  most  cordial  —  but  he  never  answered  the  real 
questions  at  issue.  Mr.  Stephens,  in  his  work  The  War  Between 
the  States,  says  ; 

This  speech  of  CAI^HOUN  was  not  answered  then;  it  has  not  been  answered 
since;  and,  in  my  judgment,  never  will  be,  or  can  be  answered  while  truth 
has  its  legitimate  influence  and  reason  controls  the  judgment  of  men. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  speech  modified  the  views 
of  Mr.  Webster,  for  his  subsequent  speech  before  the  Supreme 
Court  in  1839,  as  well  as  his  Capron  Springs  speech  in  Virginia  in 
1851,  tend  strongly  to  demonstrate  this  fact.  If  this  be  true, 
what  a  tribute  to  the  genius  of  CALHOUN,  as  well  as  the  intellect 
and  character  of  Webster.  In  our  schoolboy  days  we  never  called 
the  name  of  one  without  thinking  of  the  other. 

Three  public  men  of  that  day  we  were  taught  to  reverence. 
The  great  triumvirate  we  called  them  —  Clay,  Webster,  CALHOUN. 
We  heard  their  names  around  the  fireside  ;  we  listened  to  extracts 
from  their  speeches  in  the  Richmond  papers;  we  listened  with 
intense  interest  to  debates  between  the  old  Whig  and  Democratic 
parties;  we  saw  old  men  weep  like  children  when  Clay  was  de- 
feated for  the  Presidency;  we  saw  the  war  clouds  gather  as  pre- 
dicted, and  were  soon  reading  of  the  conflict  and  victories  in 
Mexico;  we  read  that  CALHOUN  had  refused  to  vote  for  war  and 

89 


9o  Statue   of   Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

declared  "that  the  President  and  Congress  were  behaving  in 
a  manner  most  unconstitutional."  He  said: 

Every  Senator  knows  that  I  oppose  the  war,  but  none  save  myself  knows 
the  depth  of  that  opposition.  For  the  first  time  in  my  public  life  I  can  not 
see  the  future. 

He  also  added : 

It  has  closed  the  first  volume  of  our  political  history  under  the  Constitu- 
tion and  opened  the  second,  and  no  mortal  can  tell  what  will  be  written 
upon  it. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  second  volume  of  the  history  of  the 
United  States  was  opened  by  Mr.  CALHOUN  himself  on  February 
9,  1847,  when  he  presented  resolutions  covering  the  whole 
ground  of  the  slave  question  with  regard  to  the  Territories.  To 
this  volume  of  American  history  Mr.  CALHOUN  contributed  his 
part  ably,  earnestly,  and  eloquently.  About  this  time  he  uttered 
a  sentiment  that  recalls  the  language  of  Clay  when  he  said,  "I 
had  rather  be  right  than  President."  It  was  this: 

For  many  a  year,  Mr.  President,  I  have  aspired  to  an  object  higher  than 
the  Presidency,  and  that  is  to  do  my  duty  under  all  circumstances  *  *  * 
in  reference  always  to  the  prosperity  of  my  country. 

In  this  he  spoke  correctly,  for  his  sense  of  duty  was  the  staff 
upon  which  he  leaned  as  he  went  down  into  the  shadow.  March 
4,  1850,  Mr.  Mason,  of  Virginia,  read  for  him  his  last  speech. 
This  speech  was  both  pathetic  and  prophetic.  I  forbear  to 
quote.  The  readers  of  these  addresses  to-day  will  do  well  in 
some  leisure  hours  to  read  the  closing  pages  of  the  second  volume 
of  American  history  and  glance  at  the  opening  of  another.  There 
are  a  few  here  on  both  sides  of  this  Chamber  who  helped  to  make 
the  history  contained  in  the  third  volume,  but  we  are  too  modest 
to  speak  of  it  often,  and  prefer  to  keep  it  for  the  most  part  out  of 
the  RECORD.  On  the  last  day  of  March,  1850,  the  news  of 


Address   of  Mr.  Lamb,  of    Virginia  91 


CALHOUN'S  death  spread  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the 
other.  His  last  words  were : 

The  South!  The  poor  South!  God  knows  what  will  become  of  her! 

Here  let  me  add,  by  way  of  parenthesis,  that  I  listened  only 
an  hour  ago  in  another  Chamber  to  one  of  the  most  scholarly 
addresses  I  ever  heard,  where  this  dying  expression  of  Mr. 
CALHOUN  was  quoted  and  beautifully  commented  on  by  the 
Speaker,  who  represented  a  school  of  philosophy  entirely  differ- 
ent from  that  taught  by  Mr.  CALHOUN. 

Did  his  prophetic  soul  in  the  very  hour  of  dissolution  catch  a 
glimpse  of  the  awful  catastrophy  that  was  coming  to  the  land 
he  loved  and  the  homes  he  cherished  ?  A  minor  prophet  could 
even  then  see  the  cloud  no  larger  than  a  man's  hand,  but  he  could 
not  foresee  its  momentum  and  destructive  force.  It  was  given  to 
this  prince  among  men  to  utter  a  lamantation  for  his  people  to 
which  we  find  no  parallel,  save  in  the  utterances  of  Jeremiah 
when,  picturing  the  condition  of  his  countrymen,  he  exclaimed 
in  the  bitterness  of  his  heart : 

Remember,  O  Lord,  what  is  come  upon  us:  consider,  and  behold  our 
reproach.  Our  inheritance  is  turned  to  strangers,  our  houses  to  aliens. 
We  are  orphans  and  fatherless,  our  mothers  areas  widows.  *  *  *  serv- 
ants have  ruled  over  us:  there  is  none  that  doth  deliver  us  out  of  their 
hand. 

Reasoning  from  cause  to  effect,  CALHOUN'S  logical  and 
prescient  mind  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  future — the  man  on 
horseback;  shattered  and  broken  Commonwealths;  the  shock  of 
battle,  charge  and  countercharge;  the  dead  and  dying  like 
sheaves  of  wheat  lying  on  open  plains  where  luxuriant  grain 
had  waved  in  beauty.  A  land  in  mourning;  orphans  crying  in 
the  street;  widows  refusing  to  be  comforted.  Suffering  sorrow, 
Death !  Hell !  All  that  these  suggest  of  human  calamity  weighed 
on  the  mind  and  heart  of  this  political  prophet  as  in  agony  he 
exclaims,  "God  knows  what  will  become  of  her." 


92  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 


And  God  did  know — and  has  wonderfully  ordained — for  out 
of  His  law  of  compensation  as  unfailing  as  the  law  of  gravita- 
tion has  come  a  miracle  for  the  people  whom  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 
loved  so  well  and  served  so  faithfully.  Time  would  fail  to  tell 
through  what  instrumentalities  this  miracle  has  been  wrought 
or  by  what  sacrifices  the  marvelous  results  have  been  reached. 
Enough  to  say  that  the  citizen  soldiery  of  the  South,  whose 
achievements  in  war  will  survive  in  song  and  story  while 
courage  has  an  altar  or  virtue  a  shrine — have  shown  them- 
selves greater  heroes  in  peace  than  ever  they  were  in  war.  To 
them  and  their  sons  must  be  attributed  the  wonderful  growth 
and  development  of  the  South.  True  they  are  falling  more 
rapidly  than  they  fell  in  battle,  and  the  brave  men  who  met 
them  in  deadly  conflict  and  by  whose  deeds  of  valor  they  may 
well  measure  their  manhood  and  chivalry  are  passing  at  the 
rate  perhaps  of  300  each  month.  These  survivors  of  the  might- 
iest conflict  that  ever  shook  a  continent  have  solved  many  prob- 
lems that  taxed  to  the  uttermost  their  courage,  their  patience, 
and  endurance.  In  time  the  South  will  solve  others  that  seem 
now  almost  insurmountable.  The  unseen  power  invoked  in  the 
dying  words  of  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  has  furnished  a  law  of  com- 
pensation— the  miracle  goes  on.  The  unseen  forces  are  the 
strongest  and  most  impelling.  For  all  we  know  the  spirit  of 
JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  catches  a  view  of  a  happy  land  and  a  pros- 
perous people.  And  for  ourselves  fettered  in  our  caskets  of 
clay  and  hindered  by  our  limitations  we  can  only  rejoice,  "That 
beauty  has  been  given  for  ashes,  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  and 
the  garment  of  praise  for  the  spirit  of  heaviness." 

Mr.  Speaker,  my  friends  and  colleagues  from  South  Caro- 
lina have  requested  me  to  present  some  views  on  the  life  and 
character  of  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  I  wish  their  choice  had  fallen 
on  some  abler  and  less  busy  member  of  the  Virginia  delegation, 


Address   of   Mr.  Lamb,  of    Virginia  93 

for  Virginia's  estimate  of  the  noble  South  Carolinian  deserves 
a  better  tribute  than  I  am  able  to  pay  in  the  limited  time  I 
have  had  for  preparation,  as  well  as  the  time  that  due  regard 
for  the  proprieties  of  the  situation  warrant  me  in  using  on 
this  occasion. 

In  Virginia  we  regard  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  as  a  grand  son  of  the 
Old  Commonwealth — for  his  father,  of  revolutionary  fame  and 
achievement,  emigrated  from  Ireland  before  the  Revolutionary 
war,  and  settled  in  what  is  now  Wythe  County,  Va.,  where  he 
married  a  lady  of  the  name  of  Caldwell,  the  mother  of  JOHN  C. 
CALHOUN,  and  whose  family  also  came  from  Ireland.  Patrick 
Calhoun  was  driven  by  the  Indians  from  the  western  part  of 
Virginia.  In  1756  he  removed  to  Abbeville  District,  in  South 
Carolina,  where  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  was  born  on  the  i8th  of 
March,  1782,  being  the  youngest  of  five  children — four  sons  and 
one  daughter. 

He  was  named  for  his  uncle,  Maj.  John  Caldwell,  who  was 
assassinated  by  the  Tories  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  Stories 
of  this  Revolutionary  hero  were  told  me  around  the  fireside  in 
my  childhood,  and  a  graphic  recital  of  his  encounter  with  and 
slaying  a  Cherokee  chief  that  came  to  my  notice  only  two  days 
ago  recalled  the  history  of  Virginia  and  South  Carolina  as 
taught  me  by  my  father  about  the  time  of  the  death  of  JOHN 
C.  CALHOUN.  Perhaps  of  all  these  who  will  to-day  speak  of  this 
patriot  and  statesman  I  am  the  only  one  who  recalls  his  death 
and  the  tribute  that  was  paid  to  his  life  and  character  by  Vir- 
ginia, as  well  as  South  Carolina.  I  shall  never  forget  the  com- 
ments made  by  my  father  and  his  neighbors,  and  the  tributes 
the  Virginia  papers  paid  to  his  memory. 

None  can  question  the  selection  by  South  Carolina  of  JOHN  C. 
CALHOUN  to  occupy  an  honored  place  in  the  Hall  of  America's 
most  famous  men.  CALHOUN'S  title  to  this  honor  is  spread  on 


94  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

page  after  page  of  the  history  of  his  State  and  the  history  of 
this  Nation. 

In  private  and  in  public  life,  in  character,  genius,  and  suc- 
cessful achievement  of  great  tasks  he  stamped  himself  a  man 
to  be  honored  and  remembered,  and  South  Carolina  does  well 
to  place  his  statue  here. 

His  worship  of  truth,  his  sincerity,  and  his  sterling  integrity 
were  never  questioned.  No  charge  of  corruption  or  intrigue 
ever  stained  his  public  life.  America  claims  no  statesman 
whose  private  life  and  moral  character  stands  higher;  none 
whose  genius  and  ability  can  greatly  overshadow .  him.  His 
State  may  well  be  proud  of  him,  this  Nation  may  well  honor 
him,  and  history  must  justly  place  him  in  the  front  rank  of  great 
men  of  any  age  or  country. 

His  was  a  mind  combining  in  rare  degree  those  qualities  that 
constitute  an  intellect  of  the  highest  order.  As  a  logician  he 
has  been  ranked  with  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  and,  like  Marshall, 
believed  that  the  true  art  of  logic  was  in  rightly  stating  the  first 
proposition. 

No  less  prominent  was  his  great  moral  courage,  and  his  per- 
fect reliance  on  the  power  of  truth  and  the  capacity  of  the 
people  to  be  convinced  of  it.  Often  in  advance  of  the  times,  he 
suffered  in  prospects  and  political  honors  in  defense  of  opinions 
that  he  lived  to  see  successfully  adopted  by  his  opponents,  yet 
never  hesitating  to  avow  his  opinions,  however  unpopular  at 
the  moment,  confidently  stating  that  he  never  knew  the  time 
when  the  American  people  could  not  be  made  to  see  the  truth. 

He  was  not  learned,  in  the  general  acceptation  of  the  term, 
for  leisure  and  opportunity  for  the  details  of  scholarship  were 
not  afforded  him.  He  gathered  vast  stores  of  information  from 
every  available  source,  especially  from  contact  and  exchange  of 
views  with  other  men. 


Address   of   Mr.  Lamb,  of    Virginia  95 

With  true  genius  he  separated  the  true  and  the  valuable  from 
the  false  and  erroneous.  His  mind  worked  with  wonderful 
speed  and  rare  accuracy. 

CALHOUN  richly  deserved  the  tribute  of  Winthrop,  when  he 
said  that— 

There  was  an  unsullied  purity  in  his  private  life;  there  was  an  inflexible 
integrity  in  his  public  conduct;  there  was  an  indescribable  fascination  in 
his  familiar  conversation;  there  was  a  condensed  energy  in  his  formal  dis- 
course; there  was  a  quickness  of  perception,  a  vigor  of  deduction,  a  direct- 
ness and  devotedness  of  purpose  in  all  that  he  said  or  wrote  or  did;  there 
was  a  Roman  dignity  in  his  whole  Senatorial  deportment,  which,  together, 
made  up  a  character  which  can  not  fail  to  be  contemplated  and  admired  to 
the  latest  posterity. 

CALHOUN  as  a  statesman  was  unquestionably  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  of  this  country.  To  devoted  patriotism  he  added 
sturdy  independence,  disdaining  to  calculate  the  consequences 
of  the  faithful  discharge  of  his  duty.  Fortified  by  conscious 
rectitude  and  purity  of  motive,  he  firmly  and  boldly  followed 
his  convictions  with  an  ability,  force,  and  persistence  that  noth- 
ing could  withstand.  Never  timid,  never  timeserving,  he  vig- 
orously and  ably  pursued  a  course  purely  national,  regardless  of 
mere  sectional  or  local  interest.  Farseeing  and  sagacious,  advo- 
cating measures  for  the  good  of  his  country  before  their  neces- 
sity was  commonly  apparent  and  approved,  he  constantly 
sought  to  lead  and  mold  the  public  thought  rather  than  wait 
to  follow  it  in  inglorious  safety  and  popularity.  [Applause.] 

A  devoted  worshiper  of  republican  institutions,  he  aimed  to 
give  firmness  and  durability  to  our  form  of  government  and  to 
demonstrate  to  the  world  its  superiority  over  all  other  forms  of 
government.  An  ardent  student  of  its  principles,  he  labored 
incessantly  for  means  and  measures  to  preserve  and  perpetuate 
them.  Though  an  active  and  conspicuous  leader  in  party  ex- 
citement and  strife,  all  concur  in  ascribing  to  him  none  but  the 
most  patriotic,  conscientious,  and  disinterested  motives. 


96  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

It  has  been  well  said  that  there  are  two  classes  of  politicians : 

The  one  consists  of  mere  men  of  precedent,  the  blind  and  indiscrimina- 
ting  followers  of  any  path,  whether  made  by  folly  or  wisdom,  and  whether 
strewn  with  ruins  or  covered  with  trophies;  the  other,  of  mere  men  of 
theory,  who,  regardless  of  the  settled  habits  of  the  community,  erect  in 
their  own  minds  an  ideal  phantom  of  perfection,  at  whose  voracious  shrine 
all  existing  establishments  are  offered  up,  however  endeared  by  habits  or 
consecrated  by  time. 

Between  these  two  extremes  stood  CALHOUN,. pursuing  that 
middle  course  that  his  own  wisdom,  profound  knowledge,  and 
clear  foresight  of  the  needs  of  his  country  dictated.  To  this,  in 
large  measure,  is  due  his  career  of  such  conspicuous  usefulness. 

CALHOUN  was  in  truth  a  great  American.  No  one  more  thor- 
oughly understood  those  principles  of  human  liberty  which  it 
was  the  mission  of  our  people  to  spread  over  a  vast  continent 
and  in  time  become  an  object  lesson  for  the  human  race.  And 
still  he  was  the  Southerner,  for  he  understood  and  appreciated 
to  the  full  the  social  organization  peculiar  to  the  South. 

His  love  of  truth,  of  freedom,  and  of  his  country,  coupled 
with  a  thorough  scorn  of  everything  base  and  groveling,  con- 
stituted his  ruling  passions.  In  private  life  he  was  singularly 
cheerful,  amiable,  and  fascinating.  His  friends,  his  foes,  his 
rivals,  the  very  abolitionists  themselves,  rendered  him  tribute 
and  acknowledged  his  private  virtues,  his  public  worth,  and  his 
conspicuous  ability  in  every  sphere  in  life. 

While  some  of  his  political  sentiments  differed  from  those  of 
the  great  and  good  of  the  age,  he  was  absolutely  sincere,  and 
asserted  his  beliefs  with  all  the  earnestness  of  an  enthusiastic 
nature.  It  has  often  been  said  that  he  wished  to  sever  the 
Union.  He  loved  the  Union  and  strove  to  preserve  it.  On  this 
point  a  contemporary  of  his  said: 

Because  he  foresaw  and  frankly  said  that  certain  effects  must  result 
from  certain  causes,  does  this  prove  that  he  desired  these  effects? 


Address   of  Mr.  Lamb,  of    Virginia          97 

In  his  last  speech  he  spoke  of  disunion  as  a  "great  disaster." 
While  he  called  on  the  South  for  union,  he  did  not  fail  to  warn 
the  North  of  the  danger  to  the  Union  arising  from  their  wild 
and  misguided  philanthropy,  which,  in  order  to  sustain  abstract 
principles,  loses  sight  of  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  every 
class  of  society. 

CALHOUN  has  been  accused  of  inconsistency — that  at  one  time 
he  was  for  a  protective  tariff,  at  another  for  almost  absolute 
free  trade. 

In  this  he  was  not  different  from  many  statesmen  of  his 
period.  In  the  early  history  of  this  country,  when  we  had  few 
manufacturers,  it  was  necessary  to  protect  our  infant  industries. 
During  these  years  Mr.  CALHOUN  was  for  protection.  When  the 
infants  were  approaching  maturity  he  clearly  saw  the  injustice 
to  his  own  agricultural  section  of  fostering  enterprises  that 
would  lay  tribute  on  one  section  to  build  up  the  wealth  and 
industries  of  another.  A  writer  in  the  International  Magazine 
of  1843  puts  this  question  of  consistency  so  strongly  that  I 
gladly  insert,  for  the  observation  applies  as  well  to-day  as  it 
did  over  half  a  century  ago: 

Nothing  is  more  inconsistent  than  to  persist  in  a  uniform  belief  when 
changing  circumstances  demand  its  modification.  How  absurd  to  pre- 
serve a  law  which  in  the  progress  of  society  has  become  null  and  obso- 
lete; for  instance,  granting  to  a  criminal  "the  benefit  of  clergy." 

Nothing — 

Says  a  distinguished  English  writer — 

is  so  revolutionary  as  to  attempt  to  keep  all  things  fixed  when,  by  the  very 
laws  of  nature,  all  things  are  perpetually  changing.  Nothing  is  more 
arrogant  than  for  a  fallible  being  to  refuse  to  open  his  mind  to  conviction. 
When  Mr.  CALHOUN  altered  his  opinion,  consistency  itself  required  the 
change. 

[Loud  applause.] 

437960— 10 7 


Address  of  Mr.  Aiken,  of  South  Carolina 
j* 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  Doubtless  many  a  "mute  inglorious  Milton" 
is  unknown  to  fame  for  lack  of  an  inspiring  preceptor.  Doctor 
Waddell  tfnd  the  little  school,  located  years  ago  in  the  western 
portion  of  Abbeville  County,  known  as  Willington  Academy, 
owed  their  great  prominence  largely  to  the  fact  that  JOHN  CALD- 
WELL  CALHOUN  received  there  his  first  scholastic  training;  but 
to  this  great  preceptor,  it  may  be  truthfully  said,  Mr.  CALHOUN 
owed  his  all.  If  this  master  preceptor  had  not  applied  the 
spark,  the  fires  of  genius  would  most  likely  never  have  kindled. 
The  teacher  who  confines  his  lessons  to  the  narrow  compass  of 
text-books  does  not  understand  aright  his  mission.  We  ascribe 
to  Doctor  Waddell  this  part  in  Mr.  CALHOUN'S  career  for  the 
reason  that  we  assume  that  the  boys  who  came  under  his  tui- 
tion were  presumably  not  far  above  the  average  American  boy, 
generally  speaking,  and  yet  we  find  in  a  long  list  of  those  who 
received  their  early  training  from  him  such  other  names  as 
James  L.  Petigru,  Judge  A.  B.  Longstreet,  George  McDuffie, 
W.  H.  Crawford,  W.  D.  Martin,  Hugh  S.  Legare,  George  W. 
Crawford,  D.  L.  and  F.  H.  Wardlaw,  and  N.  P.  and  P.  M. 
Butler,  all  of  whom  attained  great  distinction  in  the  service  of 
their  State  and  the  Nation. 

But  the  fires  kindled  in  the  heart  of  young  CALHOUN  mounted 
higher  than  an  academic  education,  and  so,  in  1802,  he  entered 
Yale  College,  from  which  he  graduated  two  years  later.  He 
was  20  years  of  age  at  the  time  he  entered  Yale,  having  been 
born  in  Abbeville  County  March  18,  1782. 

99 


TOO          Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

I  have  the  honor  to  represent  that  district  of  South  Carolina 
from  which  Mr.  CALHOUN  was  sent  to  Congress,  taking  his  seat 
November  4,  1811.  My  home  in  the  city  of  Abbeville  is  but  a 
few  blocks  removed  from  the  spot  where  he  began  the  practice 
of  law  shortly  after  graduation  from  Litchfield,  Conn.  I  there- 
fore feel  it  peculiarly  incumbent  upon  me  to  undertake  to  por- 
tray some  of  those  characteristics  which  marked  him  a  national 
and  international  figure.  It  is  not  false  modesty  to  say  that 
the  more  I  have  studied  his  career  the  less  I  have  felt  equal  to 
its  proper  portrayal. 

In  the  narrow  compass  of  this  discourse  I  shall  omit  the 
recital  of  events  of  Mr.  CALHOUN'S  early  life  and  of  his  service 
in  the  legislature  of  his  native  State.  These  belong  to  the 
domain  of  history  and  here  would  be  nothing  more  than  cum- 
bering repetition.  Nor  may  I  attempt  to  enter  into  details  in 
reviewing  his  service  to  the  Republic,  covering,  as  it  does,  a 
period  of  more  than  forty  years.  For  the  events  of  his  life 
were  not  mere  contributions  to  history;  they  were  the  well- 
spring  of  much  of  the  history  of  that  day,  and  gave  color  to  all 
contemporaneous  events.  Mr.  CALHOUN  made  history. 

A  marked  characteristic  of  Mr.  CALHOUN'S  mind  was  his 
ability  to  read  the  future  in  the  trend  of  the  present.  One  is 
impressed  with  this  in  reading  his  speeches  in  the  light  of  sub- 
sequent events.  If  we  may  pass  any  criticism  on  the  quality 
of  his  mind,  which  measured  so  nearly  up  to  perfection,  it 
would  be  that  he  read  his  duty  in  the  plain  letter  of  reason, 
without  due  regard  to  external  circumstances  affecting  it. 

Candor  compels  the  admission  that  in  carrying  his  theories  of 
government  to  a  perfectly  logical  conclusion,  a  conclusion  war- 
ranted in  every  detail  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
he  developed  latent  forces,  that  with  the  gathering  storm,  could 
end  only  in  the  separation  of  North  and  South.  Long  before 


Address  of  Mr.  Aiken,  of  South  Carolina     101 

he  came  into  public  notice,  however,  this  storm  was  brewing. 
Heard  first  in  subdued  mutterings,  .it  soon  gathered  with  inky 
blackness  about  the  national  capital.  He  did  not  create  the 
storm,  but  let  his  real  friends  not  attempt  to  cover  the  true 
events  of  history;  his  logical  mind,  like  the  electric  volt,  did 
part  and  illumine  the  riven  cloud. 

Virginia,  Kentucky,  and  the  parties  to  the  Hartford  conven- 
tion had  vaguely  outlined  the  right  of  a  State,  in  the  last  ex- 
tremity, to  take  measures  for  its  own  protection;  but  it  was 
only  through  the  clear  irresistible  logic  of  Mr.  CALHOUN  that 
men  realized,  however  inexpedient  or  undesirable  nullification 
might  be,  it  was  not  inconsistent  with  the  strict  meaning  of  the 
original  compact,  and  the  Constitution  based  thereon.  It  is 
perhaps  as  well  that  force  finally  supplied  the  omissions  in  that 
instrument,  for  after  all,  the  people  are  reunited,  and  the  will  ot 
a  united  people  is  superior  to  any  written  instrument.  But 
Mr.  CALHOUN  must  be  judged  in  the  light  of  the  written  instru- 
ment, for  sentiment  was  then  about  equally  divided.  The  right 
of  a  State  to  nullify  an  unconstitutional  act  of  Congress  was 
made  so  plain  in  his  speech  on  the  Force  bill,  which  we  may 
remark  in  passing  was  his  greatest  speech,  that  the  North 
American  Review,  a  strong  advocate  of  the  federal  doctrine, 
admitted  "that  Mr.  CALHOUN  had  successfully  maintained  the 
point  that  the  Constitution  was  a  compact  between  the  States," 
which  admission  conceded  the  pivotal  point  of  his  contentions, 
after  which  his  other  contentions  followed  in  natural  and  logical 
sequence.  Mr.  Webster,  under  other  circumstances,  had  spoken 
of  the  union  of  the  States  as  a  compact,  of  which  fact  Mr.  CAL- 
HOUN reminded  him,  in  replying  to  him  later. 

Mr.  CALHOUN  maintained  in  this  speech  and  established,  in 
so  far  as  reason  alone  can  establish,  that  the  sovereign  States, 
in  their  compact  for  protection  and  government,  were  bound 


102  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 


to  the  limit  and  in  the  strict  terms  of  the  Constitution,  as  rati- 
fied by  the  States;  that  the  ratification  was  by  the  individual 
of  the  States  and  not  by  the  individual  of  the  Union ;  that  the 
States  through  the  Constitution  granted  to  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment the  right  to  raise  revenue,  which  was  a  right  conceded; 
that  it  also  required  all  taxes  to  be  u'niform,  which  was  a  right 
retained.  He  maintained  that  the  tariff  act  of  1828  levied  the 
burden  mainly  on  one  section  and  distributed  the  proceeds 
mainly  in  another. 

As  this  violated  the  reserved  rights  of  the  State,  under  the 
Constitution,  that  taxes  should  be  uniform,  he  believed  that  it 
was  subject  to  the  State's  veto.  Just  how  far  Mr.  CALHOUN 
looked  into  the  future  of  the  unequal  collection  and  partisan, 
as  well  as  sectional,  distribution  of  government  revenue  we  can 
not  know.  We  are  rather  of  the  opinion  that  he  was  combating 
the  principle,  and  that  he  seized  upon  the  tariff  act  of  1828  as 
illustrative  of  the  trend  of  events.  Certain  it  is  that  the  ques- 
tion is  still  an  open  one  that  is  no  nearer  solution  by  reason  of 
one  party  domination. 

No  real  student  of  history  would  seriously  deny  that  Mr. 
CALHOUN  took  from  the  Constitution  the  fact  of  nullification  and 
molded  it  into  form.  At  this  distance  the  error  of  his  method 
of  combating  a  public  evil  from  the  standpoint  of  expediency 
and  public  policy  is  palpable;  his  purpose,  judged  in  the  light 
of  subsequent  extortions  from  the  people  under  that  doctrine, 
just  then  taking  root,  seems  to  indicate  almost  prophetic  fore- 
sight. The  doctrine  of  nullification  had  its  origin  in  the  events 
following  the  tariff  act  of  1 828.  Then,  as  now,  this  question  was 
the  bone  of  contention  between  the  two  great  political  parties, 
Republican  (now  Democratic)  and  the  Federalists. 

In  1816  Mr.  CALHOUN,  though  opposed  to  protective  tariff, 
advocated  a  protective  rate  on  wool,  cotton,  and  iron,  with  the 


Address  of  Mr.  Aiken,  of  South  Carolina     103 

avowed  purpose  of  extinguishing  a  large  war  debt  incurred  in 
the  war  of  1812.  He  has  been  severely  criticised  for  subse- 
quently taking  such  strong  ground  against  protective  legisla- 
tion as  inconsistent  with  his  former  position.  An  impartial 
reading  of  his  speech  in  advocacy  of  the  act  of  1816  lends  no 
color  to  this  charge.  In  this  he  justified  excessive  revenue  rates 
on  the  ground  that  extraordinary  demands  were  upon  the  Treas- 
ury in  consequence  of  the  war,  and  there  was  no  danger  for 
years  of  accumulating  a  surplus  in  the  Treasury.  A  surplus  he 
dreaded  as  inviting  extravagance  and  waste.  In  this  same 
speech  he  made  a  masterly  argument  advocating  enlargement 
and  increased  efficiency  of  the  navy.  He  pointed  out  the  futility 
of  this  Government  attempting  to  fortify  the  thousands  of  miles 
of  its  coast,  maintaining  that  with  a  much  less  sum  the  navy 
could  be  so  strengthened  as  to  be  effectual  in  defense.  This,  it 
is  true,  would  have  increased  the  public  debt  and  would  have 
entailed  the  collection  of  additional  revenues,  but  the  defense 
of  the  country  by  the  most  practical  method  was,  to  his  mind, 
of  first  importance;  even  his  favorite  theories  were  subordinate 
to  this.  While  in  this  speech  he  deprecated  the  necessity  for 
the  high  tariff,  he  advocated  a  gradual  reduction,  in  order  not 
to  destroy  infant  industries  brought  into  existence  and  abnor- 
mally flourishing  because  of  the  exclusion  of  foreign  goods 
during  the  war.  While  this,  too,  was  contrary  to  his  policy 
under  ordinary  circumstances,  it  goes  to  show  that  he  was  not 
radical  in  his  views  when  dealt  with  fairly.  But  his  plea  was 
for  necessary  revenue  and  not  protection,  then  as  ever  after- 
wards; his  dread  was  of  a  surplus  taken  unlawfully  from  the 
pockets  of  the  people,  inviting  wasteful,  if  not  unlawful,  appro- 
priations. 

Some  have  attributed  his  violent  opposition  to  the  tariff  of 
1828  to  personal  animosity  toward  General  Jackson,  then  Presi- 


104  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

dent.  Of  this  number  may  be  mentioned  Mr.  Benton,  of  Mis- 
souri. It  would  be  well  to  remember  that  Mr.  Benton  and  Mr. 
CALHOUN  were  not  friends,  and  while  the  former  would  not  mis- 
state a  fact,  he  would  perhaps  unduly  color  a  circumstance. 

As  this  is  a  notable  period  in  the  careers  of  both  Mr.  CALHOUN 
and  President  Jackson,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  review  some  of 
the  facts  leading  up  to  their  disagreement.  ' 

These  men,  since  they  were  first  associated  in  public  life,  had 
been  fast  friends.  It  is  said  that  General  Jackson's  admiration 
for  Mr.  CALHOUN  bordered  on  idolatry.  Mr.  CALHOUN,  after  a 
service  of  six  years  in  the  lower  House,  which  was  marked  by 
the  leading  part  he  took  in  reporting  the  war  resolution  of  1812, 
and  by  other  services  of  like  import,  had  displayed  such  marked 
ability  that,  without  his  seeking,  in  December,  1817,  even  after 
his  reelection  to  Congress,  he  was  invited  by  Mr.  Monroe,  the 
newly  elected  President,  to  take  a  place  in  his  Cabinet  as  Secre- 
tary of  War. 

A  little  digression  here  will  serve  to  show  that  his  great 
powers  of  analysis  and  generalization,  the  metaphysical  charac- 
teristic of  his  mind,  which  some  are  pleased  to  assert  rendered 
him  impractical,  were  fully  equaled  by  his  capacity  for  business 
details.  When  he  took  charge  of  the  War  Department  it  was 
in  utter  confusion.  There  were  outstanding  debts  of  over 
$40,000,000,  in  the  nature  of  past-due  claims,  which  he  reduced 
during  his  administration  to  less  than  $3,000,000.  After  a  few 
months'  observation  of  conditions,  he  drafted  an  entirely  new 
set  of  regulations,  reorganizing  the  entire  department. 

These  regulations  were  practically  unchanged  for  a  quarter  of 
a  century.  He  found  the  annual  cost  per  man,  including  officers 
in  the  service,  more  than  $451  per  annum,  and  he  left  the  cost 
less  than  $287  per  annum.  When  he  came  into  office  the  annual 
expenditure  on  the  army  was  $4,000,000.  He  reduced  this 


Address  of  Mr.  Aiken,  of  South  Carolina     105 

$1,300,000.  And  yet  it  is  said  that  the  army  had  never  been 
better  provided  or  paid.  There  is  not  an  instance  on  record 
during  his  entire  public  career  where  he  has  advocated  a  parsi- 
monious policy,  but  he  dreaded  wastefulness.  So  perfect  was 
the  system  devised  by  him  that  he  was  able  to  report  to  Con- 
gress in  1823  that — 

of  the  entire  annual  appropriation  of  money  drawn  from  the  Treasury  for 
military  service,  including  pensions  amounting  to  $4,571,961.94,  although 
it  passed  through  the  hands  of  291  disbursing  officers,  there  has  not  been  a 
single  defalcation  nor  the  loss  of  a  single  cent  to  the  Government. 

No  mere  theorist  could  have  wrought  such  wonderful  changes 
in  that  disorganized  department. 

But  let  us  recur  to  the  main  point.  It  happened  while  Mr. 
CALHOUN  held  the  position  of  Secretary  of  War  that  the  Semi- 
nole  Indians  made  frequent  incursions  into  the  territory  of  the 
United  States,  and  General  Jackson  was  sent  to  drive  them  into 
the  interior  of  the  Spanish  possessions.  It  seems  that  the  Presi- 
dent and  Mr.  CALHOUN  had  secretly  given  General  Jackson  more 
latitude  than  they  could  consistently  make  public,  and  acting 
on  this  he  had  gone  into  the  interior  of  the  Spanish  possessions 
and  had  seized  and  fortified  several  Spanish  forts,  which  he 
claimed  had  sheltered  the  enemy.  In  this  it  is  contended  by 
some  that  he  exceeded  even  his  secret  authority,  and  especially 
when  he  executed  Arbuthnot  and  Ambrister,  two  English 
subjects.  It  is  stated,  it  appears  on  very  good  authority,  that 
in  a  Cabinet  meeting  Mr.  CALHOUN  advised  that  "he  (Jackson) 
should  be  punished  or  reprimanded"  for  his  conduct  in  this 
execution. 

This  circumstance  was  not  known  to  General.  Jackson  until 
after  Mr.  CALHOUN  had  served  for  one  term  as  Vice- President, 
himself  being  President.  There  was  never  afterwards  any 
friendship  between  them;  but  we  can  not  agree  with  those  who 


106  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

believe  that  this  incident  accounts  for  Mr.  CALHOUN'S  opposition 
to  the  protective  system  and  the  bold  stand  he  ultimately  took 
for  states  rights.  The  fact  is  it  was  scarcely  possible  for  a  man 
whose  every  act  found  its  origin  in  a  logical  cause,  as  was  the 
case  with  Mr.  CALHOUN,  to  long  agree  with  a  man  whose  ideas, 
however  correct,  often  originated  in  impulse,  however  well 
meant,  and  were  executed  with  military  promptness,  as  was  the 
case  with  General  Jackson.  When  President  Jackson  was 
elected  the  second  time  Mr.  CALHOUN  looked  forward  to  this 
event  for  the  reduction  of  duties,  and  so  advised  his  friends;  and 
it  was  only  after  disappointment  in  this  quarter  that  he  ad- 
vised the  nullification  proceedings  taken  by  his  State. 

Mr.  CALHOUN  never  indulged  in  personal  invective  except  in 
repelling  an  attack,  and  then  he  confined  himself  strictly  to  the 
record,  and  in  language  absolutely  free  of  grossness.  His  at- 
tacks were  on  principles,  not  men.  And  while  we  have  the 
greatest  veneration  for  General  Jackson  as  one  of  the  noblest  of 
South  Carolina's  sons,  in  the  light  of  Mr.  CALHOUN'S  entire 
career,  which  dealt  with  principles,  not  men,  we  can  but  con- 
clude that  his  remark  in  the  Cabinet  was  but  the  reluctant  ad- 
mission of  his  sense  of  right,  affecting,  as  it  did,  even  his  friend. 
No  one  knows  how  much  the  expression  was  warped  or  its  ap- 
plication changed.  It  was  finally  reported  by  an  enemy  of  Mr. 
CALHOUN. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  feeling  of  the  President  for  Mr. 
CALHOUN,  it  is  gratifying  that  he  cherished  no  unkind  feeling  for 
the  people  of  his  native  State,  though  arrayed  with  the  Nation 
against  the  stand  they  had  taken.  Hear  just  this  short  extract 
from  his  memorable  nullification  proclamation: 

Fellow-citizens  of  my  native  State,  let  me  not  only  admonish  you  as  the 
first  magistrate  of  our  common  country,  not  to  incur  the  penalty  of  its 
laws,  but  use  the  influence  that  a  father  would  over  his  children  whom  he 
saw  rushing  to  certain  ruin. 


Address  of  Mr.  Aiken,  of  South  Carolina     107 

It  must  be  acknowledged  that,  entertaining  such  contrary 
opinions  as  to  the  attitude  of  the  State,  his  course -was  moder- 
ate. It  is  well  worth  remembering,  however,  that  the  State  of 
South  Carolina  had  attempted  to  settle  the  question  at  issue  in 
the  United  States  court  and  had  been  denied  this  redress  by  a 
resolution  of  Congress.  Force  was  considered  the  safer  way  by 
the  Nation,  and  so  force  was  threatened.  Here  was  a  striking 
circumstance.  South  Carolina  was  at  variance  with  the  Nation ; 
she  contending  for  the  right  of  the  State  to  exercise  its  veto 
power,  to  set  aside  acts  of  Congress  which  she  conceived  to  be 
unconstitutional.  This  claim  was  based  on  the  contention  that 
the  union  of  the  States  was  nothing  more  than  a  compact, 
agreed  to  by  the  citizens  of  the  States  as  such,  and  not  as  indi- 
viduals composing  the  Union ;  that  their  allegiance  to  the  Union 
was  binding  no  further  than  the  rights  conceded. 

The  Federalists  contended  that  the  Constitution  was  adopted 
by  the  people  as  a  whole,  through  the  States,  and  that  the  indi- 
vidual owed  allegiance  direct  to  the  Federal  Government,  not 
through  the  States,  and  that  the  State  had  not  the  right  to  limit 
or  specify  the  extent  of  that  allegiance. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  question  of  states'  rights 
was  well  founded  in  logic,  and  that  it  was  set  aside  by  force 
rather  than  by  regular  process  through  the  courts.  There  is  one 
consolation  to  the  State,  however,  and  that  is  that  the  contro- 
versy was  raised  and  settled  by  her  own  sons. 

There  are  those  who,  either  through  perverseness  or  misin- 
formation, have  questioned  the  fact  that  General  Jackson  was  a 
native  of  South  Carolina.  For  the  benefit  of  such  I  can  not  re- 
frain, even  at  the  cost  of  breaking  the  connection  here  of  my 
discourse,  from  inserting  some  facts  gleaned  from  history. 

Andrew  Jackson,  sr.,  was  a  Scotchman  who  lived  in  the  north 
of  Ireland.  With  his  wife  and  two  sons,  Hugh  and  Robert,  he 


io8  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

came  direct  from  Ireland  to  Charleston,  S.  C.,  in  1765.  Later 
he  purchased  a  tract  of  land  about  45  miles  above  Camden, 
S.  C.,  which  was  known  as  the  Waxhaw  settlement,  and  here  in 
South  Carolina  young  Andrew  Jackson  was  born  March  15, 
1 767.  It  seems  that  these  facts,  coupled  with  his  own  statement, 
which  has  been  quoted,  should  forever  set  this  question  at  rest. 

Mr.  CALHOUN'S  speech  on  the  force  bill  was  positively  unan- 
swerable. Mr.  Webster  undertook  to  reply  to  it,  not  by  answer- 
ing the  argument,  but  by  asserting  a  diametrically  opposite  view, 
which  was  at  variance  with  his  own  opinion,  previously  ex- 
pressed, which  fact  was  noted  by  Mr.  CALHOUN  in  his  reply. 
Mr.  CALHOUN'S  reply  to  Mr.  Webster  was  perhaps  the  most  mas- 
terful speech  of  its  kind  ever  delivered  in  the  United  States 
Senate.  The  contest  was  a  contest  of  giants.  The  issue  was  the 
burning  question  of  the  day. 

We  have  thought  that  as  light  appears  brighter  when  en- 
veloped in  darkness,  so  the  ability  of  these  men  was  accentuated 
by  a  background  of  the  uneducated  masses  at  that  time.  In 
this  we  were  in  error.  A  careful  study  of  their  careers  leads 
one  to  the  conclusion  that  they  would  tower  above  the  repre- 
sentative men  of  this  Government  at  any  stage  of  its  develop- 
ment. The  contest  was  a  contest  of  the  two  sections  of  the 
United  States,  about  equally  divided  as  to  population,  and  each 
voicing  its  sentiment  through  its  ablest  representative.  Great 
was  the  question  involved,  and  equally  great  the  master  minds, 
driven  by  opposing  forces  to  solve  it.  It  was  a  test  between 
the  broadsword  of  Richard  and  the  scimitei  of  Saladin.  Of 
the  long  career  of  these  two  men  in  the  Senate,  this  was  the 
single  occasion  recognized  as  a  decisive  engagement;  and  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  Mr.  Webster's  elegance  of  diction  and 
force  of  eloquence,  which  he  possessed  as  perhaps  no  other  man 
ever  possessed,  went  down  before  Mr.  CALHOUN'S  power  of  analy- 


Address  of  Mr.  Aiken,  of  South  Carolina     109 

sis  and  his  capacity  to  force  a  question  irresistibly  to  its  logical 
conclusion.  This  was  admitted  by  the  North  American  Review, 
a  strong  supporter  of  the  federal  doctrine,  which  then  as  now 
was  ably  edited.  It  was  practically  admitted  by  Mr.  Webster 
himself,  who,  after  Mr.  CALHOUN'S  speech,  "sat  in  sullen  silence," 
and  never  attempted  to  reply.  It  was  on  this  occasion  that 
John  Randolph,  a  past  master  in  the  art  of  sarcasm  and  invec- 
tive, so  feeble  that  he  could  hardly  rise  from  his  seat,  said  to 
some  one  near  by:  "Take  away  that  hat;  I  want  to  see  Webster 
die  muscle  by  muscle." 

As  no  account  of  Mr.  CALHOUN'S  life  work  would  be  complete 
without  reference  to  Mr.  Webster,  so  would  it  be  incomplete 
without  reference  to  Mr.  Clay.  Undoubtedly  he  ranked  with 
the  greatest  men  of  the  Nation;  but  just  here  it  is  sufficient  to 
say  that  he  possessed  more  of  the  elements  of  the  astute  rea- 
soner  than  Mr.  Webster  and  more  of  the  elements  of  the  orator 
than  Mr.  CALHOUN,  with  perhaps  less  stability  of  purpose  than 
either.  He  was  a  powerful  speaker,  and  because  of  his  superior 
capacity  for  organization  he  was  perhaps  the  most  formidable 
of  the  three  as  an  antagonist. 

While  Mr.  CALHOUN,  Mr.  Webster,  and  Mr.  Clay  were  seldom 
all  united  on  public  issues,  it  is  a  little  remarkable,  if  not  amus- 
ing, that  on  a  notable  occasion  the  powers  of  the  three  were 
outwitted  by  a  little  by-play  of  politics,  linked  with  "Old 
Hickory's"  never-failing  popularity  with  the  people,  right  or 
wrong. 

Resolutions  offered  by  Mr.  Clay  had  passed  the  Senate  con- 
demning the  President  for  arbitrarily  removing  the  government 
deposits  from  the  National  Bank.  Mr.  Benton,  of  Missouri, 
alone  voted  against  the  resolution.  On  three  separate  occasions 
afterwards  Mr.  Benton  undertook  to  have  the  Senate  expunge 
the  resolution,  but  it  would  not  hear  to  the  proposition.  While 


no  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 


Mr.  CALHOUN  never  cordially  supported  the  existing  banking  sys- 
tem, it  had  the  sanction  of  Congress,  and  his  respect  for  order 
and  for  the  Constitution  precluded  his  sanction  of  the  act  of 
President  Jackson  in  arbitrarily  removing  by  force  the  govern- 
ment deposits.  He  dreaded  the  crash  in  the  financial  system, 
but  he  dreaded  more  executive  usurpation,  however  well  meant. 
In  this  view  he  was  cordially  supported  by  both  Mr.  Clay  and 
Mr.  Webster. 

Another  turn  was  given  to  the  affair.  Friends  of  the  Presi- 
dent, knowing  his  great  popularity  with  the  people,  had  many 
of  the  States  to  instruct  their  Senators  to  vote  for  the  expung- 
ing resolution.  With  this  number  to  build  on,  Mr.  Benton,  by 
wining  and  dining  and  nursing  a  few  who  were  weak-kneed, 
finally  got  together  a  majority.  At  the  earliest  possible  hour  it 
was  determined  that  the  work  should  be  done.  It  was  antici- 
pated that  a  storm  would  be  raised  and  that  the  three  giants 
would  undertake  to  speak  the  resolution  to  death.  Mr.  Benton 
prepared  for  this  exigency.  He  provided  one  of  the  committee 
rooms  with  turkey,  ham,  and  other  inviting  dishes,  with  plenty 
to  wash  them  down.  They  prepared  for  a  siege,  and  determined 
not  to  adjourn  until  the  expunging  resolutions  had  passed.  As 
expected,  Mr.  Webster,  Mr.  Clay,  and  Mr.  CALHOUN  all  spoke 
with  great  feeling  of  the  act  that  was  about  to  be  perpetrated, 
subordinating  the  legitimate  authority  of  the  Senate  to  the  arbi- 
trary power  of  the  Executive.  Mr.  Clay's  speech  was  a  perfect 
masterpiece  of  its  kind.  But  none  of  this  counted  against  the 
ham  and  turkey  and  the  small  majority  who  had  sworn  to  do 
their  work  before  adjournment. 

And  so  this  array  of  logic,  eloquence,  and  force  went  down  at 
a  late  hour  of  the  night  before  the  tactics  of  the  gentleman  from 
Missouri. 

Mr.  CALHOUN  and  Mr.  Webster  were  personal  friends  through- 
out their  public  association,  though  they  were  separate  "as  far 


Address  of  Mr.  Aiken,  of  South  Carolina     in 

as  pole  from  pole"  on  vital  public  issues.  Mr.  CALHOUN  and 
Mr.  Clay  in  the  beginning  were  members  of  the  same  political 
party,  and  while  their  views  were  not  often  seriously  divergent 
on  vital  public  questions,  they  had  personal  differences  later  in 
life,  no  doubt  growing  out  of  aspirations  which  each  enter- 
tained to  become  President.  There  are  storms  in  the  higher  as 
well  as  the  lower  atmospheres.  Jealousy  is  the  handmaid  of 
ambition,  and  it  is  rare  that  the  mistress  enters  the  human 
heart  alone.  "A  man's  a  man  for  a'  that." 

Was  it  a  mere  coincidence  that  these  men,  each  a  star  of  the 
first  magnitude  and  each  resplendent  in  his  own  sphere,  should 
have  risen  at  a  critical  period  of  the  Nation's  history,  to  light 
the  way  for  the  millions  to  a  full  understanding  of  the  antago- 
nistic principles  which  must  eventually  disrupt  the  Govern- 
ment and  overturn  existing  institutions?  Here  was  a  colossal 
scene  in  drama  of  the  universe.  Amid  the  cold,  bleak  hills  of 
New  England  a  son  was  born,  the  greatest  of  American  orators, 
and  ere  long  he  found  his  way  to  the  center  of  the  national 
stage.  In  his  suite  were  millions  of  American  people,  clamoring 
for  centralization  of  government  and  executive  power.  During 
the  same  calendar  year,  in  the  sunny  South,  that  section  which 
even  yet  has  not  felt  the  congestion  of  alien  blood,  another  son 
was  born,  the  greatest  of  American  debaters.  A  little  earlier 
than  the  first  he  found  his  way  to  the  center  of  the  national 
stage,  and  in  his  suite  were  millions  of  American  people  demand- 
ing equality  of  administration  under  the  Constitution  and 
recognition  of  the  reserved  rights  of  the  component  States.  And 
then,  from  a  State  divided  in  sentiment  as  it  was  afterwards 
divided  in  actual  secession,  a  State  which  had  itself  more  than 
hinted  at  the  doctrine  of  nullification,  came  a  third  son,  whose 
position  was  also  near  the  front  and  near  the  footlights.  He 
entered  along  with  the  Southerner.  As  scene  followed  scene  in 


ii2  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

course,  culminating  in  nullification  and  the  force  bill,  a  crisis 
was  imminent.  It  was  then  that  the  great  compromiser  stepped 
between  contending  forces,  and  by  astute  statesmanship  forced 
a  truce.  By  him  the  climax  was  changed,  but  it  took  no  prophet 
to  see  that  the  drama  was  soon  to  be  rewritten  in  a  nation's 
blood.  The  truce  could  not  last.  The  cause  was  rooted  in 
antagonistic  principles  of  government,  involving  the  destruction 
of  institutions  older  than  the  Constitution  itself;  they  were 
deeper  than  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  men;  they  were  taught 
in  the  schools  and  sanctioned  in  the  church;  they  were  imbibed 
with  the  mother's  milk ;  they  were  in  the  blood,  and  could  ulti- 
mately find  settlement  only  in  the  shedding  of  that  blood. 
Men's  destinies  were  involved,  but  only  as  so  many  pawns  under 
the  master  hand.  For  explanation  of  the  purpose,  the  plan, 
the  results,  we  have  learned  to  look  through  the  vista  of  mar- 
shaled events  beyond  the  creature  to  the  creature's  God. 

The  scene  has  changed.  Southern  and  northern  blood,  flow- 
ing in  a  common  stream,  has  washed  away  forever  the  system 
of  slavery,  a  system  for  which  they  were  equally  responsible, 
but  for  which  only  the  South  has  paid,  and  over  its  ruins  they 
have  builded  new  systems,  displaying  industrial  development 
that  has  astounded  the  world.  But  the  principles  that  set  in 
motion  this  destruction  of  systems  have  not  changed.  They 
are  coterminal  with  the  Government  itself,  the  one  tending 
toward  centralization,  monopoly,  and  imperialism;  the  other 
toward  constitutional  government  and  equality  of  privilege  to 
the  individual  citizen.  [Applause.] 

Mr.  CALHOUN 's  last  speech  in  the  Senate,  which,  contrary 
to  his  custom,  he  reduced  to  writing,  and  which  because  of  his 
enfeebled  condition  was  read  by  a  colleague,  will  be,  in  the 
years  to  come,  a  beacon  light  calling  all  true  Americans,  with- 
out reference  to  section  or  party,  from  their  mad  lust  for  power 
to  anchor  again  in  the  Constitution. 


Address  of  Mr.  Aiken,  of  South  Carolina     113 

Mr.  CALHOUN  loved  the  Union,  but  he  loved  a  constitutional 
Union.  If  there  was  one  feature  more  pronounced  in  nullifica- 
tion as  a  remedial  measure  than  another  it  was  that  it  was  con- 
servative of  the  Union.  His  last  public  utterance  looked  to  the 
preservation  of  the  Union  by  amendment  to  the  Constitution 
and  without  bloodshed.  "His  devotion  to  the  South  was  not 
sectional  so  much  as  it  was  the  natural  consequence  of  his  views 
with  reference  to  the  theories  of  government."  His  champion- 
ship of  her  interests  was  only  for  a  child's  just  share  of  the 
maternal  inheritance,  strictly  in  accordance  with  the  will.  Hear 
this  statement,  the  closing  lines  of  his  last  speech,  to  which 
we  have  previously  referred.  Remember  that  at  that  very 
moment  the  hand  of  death  was  upon  him ;  and  divested  of  every 
earthly  consideration,  he  spoke  to  his  people  North  and  South. 
He  said: 

Having  faithfully  done  my  duty  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  both  to  the 
Union  and  my  section,  throughout  the  whole  of  this  agitation,  I  shall 
have  the  consolation,  let  what  will  come,  that  I  am  free  from  all  respon- 
sibility. 

It  has  perhaps  never  occurred  to  the  sectional  partisan  who 
has  attributed  traitorous  motives  to  this  greatest  of  American 
statesmen  that  a  calm,  unbiased  consideration  of  his  views,  and 
their  adoption  in  good  faith  by  the  Nation,  might  have  averted 
that  terrible  struggle,  involving  the  loss  of  countless  lives  and 
billions  of  property.  The  fact  is  overlooked  that  a  constitu- 
tional union,  such  as  was  the  dream  of  Mr.  CALHOUN'S  life  and 
to  which  he  looked  in  every  measure  that  he  proposed  touching 
this  subject,  is  the  only  real  union  that  could  give  each  member 
of  the  family  an  equitable  share  in  the  common  inheritance. 
Union  and  force  are  not  compatible  words.  Instead  of  this  Gov- 
ernment now  being  a  union  of  States,  with  each  State  retaining 
its  proper  degree  of  sovereignty,  we  are  rapidly  becoming  a 


ii4  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 


Nation  with  few  rights  reserved  to  the  States  other  than  such  as 
the  Federal  Government  does  not  see  fit  to  usurp.  At  a  critical 
time  in  our  history,  when  the  sober  judgment  of  the  masses  had 
not  yet  given  place  to  passion,  there  lay  before  us  two  ways  of 
finally  adjusting  our  differences.  One  was  through  this  body 
and  the  courts,  which  would  have  respected  and  adjusted  prop- 
erty rights  and  preserved  that  comity  of  interest  due  between 
sovereign  though  united  States.  The  other,  conceived  in  mu- 
tual jealousies,  fanned  by  hate,  could  but  leave  its  trail  of  blood 
and  carnage.  To  the  everlasting  credit  of  Mr.  CALHOUN  be  it 
said  that  his  great  heart,  filled  with  aspirations  for  the  young 
Republic,  and  constant  in  devotion  to  the  Union,  sought  solution 
in  the  way  of  peace.  He  saw  the  distant  breakers,  and  had 
others  been  as  astute  the  old  ship  might  have  been  steered 
around  them  without  loss  of  rigging  or  mutiny  of  her  crew. 

Mr.  CALHOUN  stood  for  government  in  accordance  with  the 
Constitution.  In  this,  rather  than  in  centralized  wealth  or  im- 
perialism, he  believed  reposed  our  strength  and  continuous  exist- 
ence. It  may  be  said,  and  with  some  color  of  warrant,  that  in 
the  early  years  of  his  public  service  he  often  yielded  to  what 
seemed  to  be  for  the  public  good  without  strict  reference  to  the 
Constitution;  but  for  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life,  his  eye 
was  ever  on  the  Constitution,  and  no  scheme,  however  promis- 
ing, however  enticing,  could  receive  his  sanction  if,  viewed  in 
the  light  of  that  instrument,  it  reflected  the  slightest  shadow. 

We  may  but  mention  the  branches  of  public  service  in  which 
Mr.  CALHOUN 's  talents  were  engaged.  So  prominent  and  so  full 
of  events  were  his  services,  in  whatever  capacity,  that  we  must 
leave  the  recital  of  details  largely  to  history.  He  served  first  in 
the  House  for  six  years,  then  as  Secretary  of  War  in  the  Cab- 
inet of  Mr.  Monroe.  He  was  elected  Vice-President  in  1 824,  and 
reelected.  He  was  chosen  United  States  Senator  in  December, 


Address  of  Mr.  Aiken,  of  South  Carolina     115 

1832,  and  was  reelected  to  succeed  himself.  Owing  to  the  death 
of  Mr.  Upsher,  Secretary  of  State  in  President  Tyler's  adminis- 
tration, Mr.  CALHOUN  was  called  to  that  position,  which  place 
he  filled  with  eminent  ability,  being  the  leading  spirit  in  the  an- 
nexation of  Texas.  Shortly  after  retiring  from  the  office  of  Sec- 
retary of  State,  he  was  again  elected  to  the  Senate,  bringing  his 
great  talents  into  that  body  just  in  time  to  avert  war  with 
England  and  to  make  possible  the  peaceable  annexation  of  Ore- 
gon in  1846.  Here,  in  the  arena  best  suited  to  his  great  talents, 
he  died  in  his  seventieth  year,  March  31,  1850. 

While  Mr.  CALHOUN  in  the  early  part  of  his  service  belonged 
to  the  Republican  (Democratic)  party,  h^  would  not  be  bound 
to  a  party  measure  which  his  judgment  could  not  fully  accept. 
In  advocating  the  war  of  1812  his  course  was  rather  against  the 
policy  of  his  party,  but  the  soundness  of  his  views  was  after- 
wards developed.  He  opposed,  almost  alone  in  his  party,  the 
embargo,  the  nonimportation,  and  nonintercourse  acts.  Subse- 
quent events  justified,  beyond  question,  the  logic  of  his  position. 
He  opposed  the  banking  plan  of  1814-15,  himself  suggesting  a 
plan  containing  many  of  the  features  of  the  present  national 
banking  system.  He  pointed  out  so  clearly  the  fallacy  of  the 
system  proposed  and  the  utter  folly  of  the  Government  borrow- 
ing its  own  credit  from  the  bank  that  the  measure,  though  a 
party  measure,  was  defeated.  But  he  was  big  enough  and 
broad  enough  to  divest  a  question  of  its  party  origin,  and  with- 
out selfish  purpose,  either  for  himself  or  for  his  locality,  to 
view  it  with  an  eye  single  to  the  good  of  the  whole  people.  It 
is  often  a  dangerous  policy  for  men  of  less  ability  to  undertake 
to  follow  his  example.  If  he  was  inconsistent  in  party  alle- 
giance, he  was  rarely  inconsistent  in  party  principles. 

In  personal  appearance,  Mr.  CALHOUN  was  a  striking  figure. 
A  lady  traveling  in  this  country,  seeing  him  for  the  first  time, 


n6  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 


spoke  of  him  as  "the  cast-iron  man,  who  seemed  never  to  have 
been  born."  No  one  ever  saw  him  without  having  the  impres- 
sion that  he  was  possessed  of  marked  ability.  His  features  in 
repose  were  irregular,  but  in  debate  his  animation  was  such  as 
to  throw  a  light  about  his  countenance.  His  eyes,  a  deep  blue, 
large  and  brilliant,  were  most  striking.  In  repose  they  glowed 
with  a  steady  light,  while  in  action  they  fairly  emitted  flashes 
of  fire.  If  he  had  been  endowed  with  less  integrity  of  purpose 
and  more  policy,  he  could  surely  have  been  President.  That 
great  honor,  we  believe  he  laid  down,  because  he  would  be  the 
tool  of  no  man  and  because  its  acceptance  would  have  sacri- 
ficed principles,  the  establishment  of  which  had  consumed  the 
greater  part  of  his  life.  He  possessed  pride  of  character  in  a 
marked  degree,  and  if  anything,  his  pride  of  opinion  was  even 
more  marked.  He  was  firm  and*  prompt,  manly  and  independ- 
ent. It  may  truly  be  said  of  him,  that  however  radical  he  may 
have  considered  the  views  of  another,  he  never  attacked  them, 
except  in  respectful  language,  and  with  cold  logic.  A  cause 
that  could  not  be  maintained  on  this  basis  could  not  receive  his 
sanction.  At  the  time  of  Mr.  CALHOUN'S  death,  admiration  for 
his  great  qualities  was  not  confined  to  the  South.  The  legisla- 
tures of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  in  solemn  assembly, 
passed  resolutions  deploring  his  death.  Nor  were  they  alone 
in  this;  men  everywhere  recognized  his  ability  and  conceded 
his  honesty  of  purpose.  But  cruel  war,  carrying  death  into 
so  many  homes,  left  its  prejudice  in  the  minds  of  the  people, 
and  those  who  stood  in  the  forefront  of  the  events  leading  up 
to  that  war  were  marked  for  sectional  hate.  Men  forgot  the 
virtues  of  the  great  in  the  passions  of  the  hour. 

But  may  we  not  call  from  the  past  the  testimony  of  his  co- 
temporaries  ?  Can  there  be  any  question  of  the  sincerity  of  Mr. 
Webster,  or  of  his  capacity  to  judge  of  his  merits,  when,  after 
admitting  their  opposite  views  on  principle,  he  said : 


Address  of  Mr.  Aiken,  of  S>outh  Carolina     117 

Mr.  President,  he  had  the  basis,  the  indispensable  basis  of  all  high 
character,  and  that  was  unspotted  integrity — unimpeached  honor  and 
character.  If  he  had  aspirations,  they  were  high,  honorable,  and  noble. 
There  was  nothing  low  or  meanly  selfish  that  came  near  the  head  or 
the  heart  of  Mr.  CALHOUN.  Firm  in  his  purpose,  perfectly  patriotic  and 
honest,  as  I  am  sure  he  was,  in  the  principles  that  he  espoused  and  in 
the  measures  that  he  defended,  aside  from  that  large  regard  for  that 
species  of  distinction  that  conducted  him  to  eminent  stations  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Republic,  I  do  not  believe  that  he  had  a  selfish  motive  or 
a  selfish  feeling. 

Can  there  be  any  question  of  the  sincerity  of  Mr.  Clay,  who, 
for  personal  reasons,  had  not  sustained  cordial  relations  with 
Mr.  CALHOUN  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  when  he  said: 

Sir,  he  has  gone!  No  more  shall  we  witness  from  yonder  seat  the 
flashes  of  that  keen  and  penetrating  eye  of  his  darting  through  this 
Chamber.  No  more  shall  we  be  thrilled  by  that  torrent  of  clear,  concise, 
compact  logic  poured  out  from  lips  which,  if  it  did  not  always  carry 
conviction  to  our  judgment,  always  commanded  our  great  admiration. 
Those  eyes  and  those  lips  are  closed  forever!  And  when,  Mr.  President, 
will  that  great  vacancy  which  has  been  created  by  the  event  to  which 
we  are  now  alluding,  when  will  it  be  filled  by  an  equal  amount  of  ability, 
patriotism,  and  devotion  to  what  he  conceived  to  be  the  best  interest  of 
his  country? 

Undoubtedly  Mr.  CALHOUN  was  one  of  the  great  men  of  this 
Nation.  But  men  are  judged,  unfortunately,  by  the  success  or 
failure  of  their  greatest  undertaking.  Judged  from  this  point  of 
view,  the  popular  voice  is  against  him.  But  there  is  philosophy 
in  that  line  from  Tennyson : 

He  makes  no  friends,  who  never  made  a  foe. 

The  two  most  conspicuous  figures — and  those  who  will  sur- 
vive longest  in  the  memory  of  mankind — of  that  great  contest 
over  the  conflicting  theories  of  our  Government  are  JOHN  C. 
CALHOUN  and  Abraham  Lincoln.  The  achievements  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln are  viewed  through  the  glamour  of  success  and  the  halo 
of  the  martyr,  while  the  cause  for  which  Mr.  CALHOUN  labored — 


u8  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

the  perpetuation  of  the  Union  as  it  came  from  the  hands  of  the 
fathers — went  down  in  defeat.  Had  Lincoln  failed,  he  would 
have  been  censured  by  disinterested  nations  for  the  effort  to 
subvert  and  suppress  the  constitutional  rights  of  free  States  by 
force  of  arms;  censured  for  invading  and  undertaking  to  destroy 
the  property  rights  of  a  people  in  open  violation  of  both  the 
spirit  and  letter  of  the  Constitution.  Success  threw  a  halo 
about  these  events,  and  prosperity,  smiling  upon  the  stricken 
land,  aided  by  time,  has  done  much  to  banish  the  sense  of 
injuries  suffered  and  to  throw  the  mantle  of  charity  over  those 
scenes. 

Notwithstanding  defeat  and  disasters  attended  upon  the  work 
of  CALHOUN,  he  continues  to  be  regarded  as  the  Aristotle  of 
American  politics;  and  with  the  mind  of  a  seer  and  the  heart 
of  a  hero  he  survives  in  the  respect  of  his  countrymen,  wept, 
honored,  and  sung.  His  great  compatriot  and  colaborer,  Henry 
Clay,  is  immortalized  by  the  sentiment  he  expressed,  that  he 
would  rather  be  right  than  to  be  President.  Mr.  CALHOUN  was 
right  in  principle,  and  the  office  of  President  could  have  added 
nothing  to  his  renown. 

It  can  not  be  that  passion  and  sectional  strife  will  hover 
even  over  the  grave.  When  these  have  vanished  and  when  we 
view  Mr.  CALHOUN  merely  as  a  citizen  of  our  common  country, 
we  will  learn  to  appreciate  him  at  his  true  value  and  we  will 
inscribe  his  name  on  the  first  page  of  the  book  of  immortal 
memories.  Nearly  all  the  glory  of  ancient  Greece  that  has 
survived  "Decay's  effacing  fingers"  may  be  summed  up  or 
narrated  in  the  biography  of  her  great  men.  The  time  will 
come  in  the  history  of  our  own  country  when  our  people,  with- 
out reference  to  section  or  party,  will  cherish  the  memory  of 
those  of  our  great  men  who  have  risen  as  the  tall  oak  from  the 
level  of  the  forest,  and  who,  while  standing  more  conspicuously 


Address  of  Mr.  Aiken,  of  South  Carolina     119 

in  the  glow  of  public  life,  have  likewise  borne  the  greater  shock 
and  burden  of  the  storms  that  swept  the  young  Republic. 

Mr.  CALHOUN  never  attacked  the  Union,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
he  always  defended  it.  Whether  or  not  his  plans  of  preserva- 
tion would  have  solved  the  problem,  we  do  not  know.  We 
believe  they  were  founded  in  a  good  purpose.  Because  he 
pulled  the  veil  of  the  future  further  apart  than  any  man  of  his 
time,  actually  foretelling  the  fratricidal  strife  that  must  follow 
the  then  unchanged  current  of  events,  some  have  come  to  think 
of  him  as  the  author  of  that  struggle.  So  strikingly  have 
events  justified  his  forebodings  that  it  is  not  strange  that  some, 
like  the  Israelites  of  old,  have  placed  the  origin  of  their  troubles 
at  the  feet  of  the  prophet  pronouncing  them. 

Each  setting  sun  dims  the  career  of  that  public  servant  who 
has  used  his  opportunities  only  as  a  means  of  advancement; 
but  it  is  only  in  the  afterglow  of  the  centuries  that  the  career 
of  the  unselfish  patriot  and  statesman  may  be  justly  measured. 
These  develop  side  lights  that  the  passions  of  the  present  shut 
out.  At  this  distance  Aristides  was  never  greater  than  when 
writing  his  own  order  of  banishment  on  the  voting  shell  of  his 
fellow-countryman. 

If  Mr.  CALHOUN  hastened  secession,  he  did  it  by  no  incon- 
sistent or  unconstitutional  course.  If  he  hastened  secession, 
perhaps  it  was  better  than  that  the  smoldering  fires  should  have 
broken  in  greater  fury  from  being  longer  pent  up.  If  this 
Nation  was  to  be  convulsed,  its  domestic  systems  upturned, 
and  a  new  and  changed  order  of  things  inaugurated,  some 
master  mind,  under  the  providence  of  God,  had  to  give  definite 
human  shape  to  the  plan  of  reversal.  May  he  not  have  been 
the  instrument? 

It  is  a  fitting  tribute  to  the  memory  of  that  great  man  that 
his  beloved  State  has  set  his  statue  here,  beside  those  the 


120          Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

events  of  whose  lives  were  interlaced  with  his.  I  feel  as  though 
we  are  giving  him  back  to  the  Republic,  after  the  mist  of  sec- 
tional prejudice  has  risen.  His  purity  of  life,  his  power  and 
sublimity  of  thought,  must  find  responsive  appreciation  in  that 
higher  sphere  of  American  thought  where  the  qualities  of  mind 
and  heart  are  considered.  I  can  but  believe  that  the  day  is 
dawning  when  the  Nation  will  again  take  him  to  her  bosom; 
that  she  in  truth  welcomes  his  statue  into  the  circle  of  those 
who  in  their  lives  molded  and  defended  her,  and  who,  standing 
here  in  enduring  marble,  will  keep  their  silent  vigil  over  her 
destinies  throughout  the  coming  ages.  [Loud  applause.] 


Address  of  Mr.  Finley,  of  South  Carolina 
* 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  Leaders  of  men  are  born,  and  not  made;  they 
are,  however,  developed  by  circumstances.  It  is  impossible  to 
think  of  Alexander  the  Great  in  any  other  capacity  than  as  a 
leader  of  men.  Nor  is  it  conceivable  that  Hannibal  and  Napo- 
leon might  have  been  weaklings  and  followers,  not  leaders. 
As  this  is  true  of  warriors,  it  is  equally  true  of  philosophers 
and  statesmen.  In  the  classic  days  of  Greece  and  Rome  it  is 
said  that  it  was  a  difficult  matter  to  decide  whether  to  accord 
more  liberal  praise  and  greater  honor  to  her  warriors  or  to  her 
statesmen.  In  the  history  of  nations  we  find  that  some  men 
are  indelibly  stamped  with  genius  and  to  a  transcendent  degree 
with  the  attributes  of  greatness;  consequently  they  rise  higher 
than  their  fellows,  so  much  higher,  in  fact,  that  the  number  of 
the  company  and  their  competitors  is  very  small.  The  history 
of  the  United  States  shows  no  exception  to  this  rule.  In  the 
war  of  the  Revolution  there  is  no  competitor  of  the  great  Wash- 
ington. Probably  the  figure  that  will  live  longest  and  possibly 
in  time  rank  highest  in  the  second  war  of  independence,  that 
of  1812,  is  the  hero  of  the  battle  of  New  Orleans,  Andrew  Jack- 
son; in  the  Mexican  war,  Winfield  Scott,  although  General 
Taylor,  the  conqueror  of  Santa  Ana  in  the  battle  of  Buena 
Vista,  received  his  great  reward,  the  Presidency,  shortly  after- 
wards; in  the  war  between  the  States,  General  Grant  on  the 
one  side  and  General  Lee  on  the  other;  in  the  war  with  Spain, 
Admiral  Dewey. 


122  Statue  of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary  war  this  country  may 
be  said  to  have  literally  teemed  with  great  men — orators,  phi- 
losophers, and  statesmen.  I  remember,  when  a  boy,  reading  of 
the  great  characters  who  conducted  the  Government  during 
that  bloody  and  trying  period,  what  admiration  and  rev- 
erence I  felt  for  those  who  constituted  the  Continental  Congress. 
As  a  man  of  letters  and  statesman,  Jefferson,  the  author  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  easily  the  first,  but  along  with 
him  a  host  of  others,  who,  in  point  of  patriotism  and  ability, 
were  entitled  to  sit  beside  him  in  a  congregation  of  great  men. 
After  the  war  the  13  Colonies  found  themselves  in  a  most 
distracted  and  impoverished  condition.  The  Colonies  by  coop- 
eration and  force  of  all  against  Great  Britain  won,  yet  in  the 
treaty  of  peace  with  the  mother  country  the  acknowledgment 
was  made  separately  for  each,  and  when  the  war  was  over 
we  had  13  separate  and  independent  sovereignties  of  what  had 
been  the  13  Colonies,  and  which  by  the  treaty  of  peace  had 
been  acknowledged  as  independent  sovereign  States.  It  is  true 
there  was  a  nominal  coalition  between  all  the  Colonies,  but  the 
action  of  the  federation  was  not  binding  on  any  of  the  13 
without  the  voluntary  consent  of  the  individual  State.  This 
was  followed  by  an  effort  to  bring  about  a  closer  and  more 
perfect  union  between  the  States,  and  resulted  in  the  conven- 
tion which  framed  the  Constitution  in  1787.  After  its  adoption 
by  three-fourths  of  the  States,  the  young  Nation,  or  "federa- 
tion," as  it  was  then  called  by  many,  claimed  for  itself  a  place 
in  the  family  of  nations.  For  many  years,  on  account  of  the 
conditions  brought  about  by  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  the 
United  States  found  itself  beset  by  difficulties  on  every  hand. 

The  debts  of  the  States  and  Nation  were  enormous,  considering 
the  ability  to  pay.  The  Constitution  was  little  understood  by 
the  average  citizen,  and  the  obligations  imposed  by  it  were  to  a 


Address  of  Mr.  Finley,  of  South  Carolina    123 

large  extent  little  regarded  by  the  people.  It  has  been  erro- 
neously asserted  so  often  and  for  so  long  a  time  that  JOHN 
CALDWELL  CALHOUN,  of  South  Carolina,  was  the  author  of  the 
doctrine  of  nullification,  which  resulted  later  in  the  assertion 
of  the  right  of  secession,  that  to-day  this  error  is  a  matter 
of  common  belief  among  the  people  of  this  country.  As  a  ma- 
ter of  fact,  he  was  not  the  author  of  the  doctrine  of  nullifi- 
cation. 

From  the  first  there  were  two  parties  in  this  country. 
While  it  is  true  that  both  claimed  and  practiced  allegiance  to 
Washington  during  the  two  terms  he  was  President,  this  homage 
was  personal  rather  than  political.  Even  in  his  day  the  division 
was  sharp  between  the  two  parties,  and  it  required  all  of  his 
great  influences  to  keep  the  peace  even  in  his  official  family. 
Some  idea  of  this  can  be  conjectured  by  considering  how  impos- 
sible of  agreement  on  practically  all  great  questions  there 
was  to  be  had  between  Jefferson  and  Hamilton.  The  former 
a  Democrat  of  the  strictest  school,  believing  with  all  his  heart 
in  the  necessity  and  justice  of  a  republican  form  of  govern- 
ment with  the  people  the  source  of  all  power,  and  Hamilton 
believing  in  reality  that  a  limited  monarchy  was  the  best  form 
of  government  even  for  this  country.  The  formation  of  two 
great  parties  was  not  only  to  be  expected,  but  was  a  matter  of 
necessity — the  one  to  assert,  the  other  to  combat.  First,  the 
Federal  party  in  power,  with  John  Adams  as  second  President, 
elected  in  1796.  The  Federalist  party,  amongst  other  laws  that 
were  objectionable  to  the  followers  of  Jefferson  and  many  who 
were  not,  passed  the  alien  and  sedition  laws.  The  passage  of 
these  laws  laid  the  foundation  that  resulted  in  events  which 
terminated  in  the  first  declaration  of  the  doctrine  of  nullifica- 
tion of  a  federal  law  by  a  State  being  advanced,  and  this  as  a 
natural  sequence  resulted  later  on  in  the  doctrine  of  secession 
being  advocated. 


124  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

On  November  16,  1798,  the  State  of  Kentucky,  through  its 
legislature,  on  account  of  opposition  to  these  and  other  federal 
laws,  passed  a  resolution  signed  by  the  governor  and  attested  by 
the  secretary  of  state  embodying  the  principles  of  nullification. 
In  the  Kentucky  Resolutions  of  1798,  by  Warfield  (p.  76),  it 
it  is  declared : 

That  whensoever  the  General  Government  assumes  undelegated  powers, 
its  acts  are  unauthoritative,  void,  and  of  no  force:  That  to  this  compact 
each  State  acceded  as  a  State,  and  is  an  integral  party,  its  co-States  forming 
as  to  itself  the  other  party:  That  the  Government  created  by  this  compact 
was  not  made  the  exclusive  or  final  judge  of  the  extent  of  the  powers  dele- 
gated to  itself;  since  that  wrould  have  made  its  discretion,  and  not  the 
Constitution,  the  measure  of  its  powers;  but  that  as  in  all  cases  of  com- 
pact among  parties  having  no  common  judge,  each  party  has  an  equal 
right  to  judge  for  itself,  as  well  of  infractions  as  of  the  mode  and  measure 
of  redress. 

And  in  the  third  resolution  (p.  78)  it  is  declared : 
That  therefore  the  act  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  passed 
on  the  i4th  day  of  July,  1798,  entitled  "An  act  in  addition  to  the  act 
for  the  punishment  of  certain  crimes  against  the  United  States,"  which 
does  abridge  the  freedom  of  the  press,  is  not  law,  but  is  altogether  void 
and  of  no  effect. 

And  in  the  fourth  resolution  (p.  79)  it  is  declared : 
"An  act  concerning  aliens,"   which  assumes  power  over  alien  friends 
not   delegated   by   the   Constitution,   is   not   law,    but   is   altogether  void 
and  of  no  force. 

The  third  of  the  Virginia  resolutions,  passed  in  1798,  writings 
of  James  Madison  (vol.  6,  p.  345),  is  as  follows: 

That  this  assembly  doth  explicitly  and  peremptorily  declare,  that  it 
views  the  powers  of  the  Federal  Government  as  resulting  from  the  com- 
pact to  which  the  States  are  parties,  as  limited  by  the  plain  sense  and  inten- 
tion of  the  instrument  constituting  that  compact  as  no  further  valid  than 
they  are  authorized  by  the  grants  enumerated  in  that  compact;  and  that 
in  cases  of  a  deliberate,  palpable,  and  dangerous  exercise  of  other  powers, 
not  granted  by  the  said  compact,  the  States  who  are  parties  thereto  have 


Address  of  Mr.  Finley,  of  South  Carolina    125 

the  right  and  are  in  duty  bound  to  interpose  for  arresting  the  progress  of 
the  evil,  and  for  maintaining  within  their  respective  limits  the  authorities 
rights,  and  liberties  appertaining  to  them. 

These  are  plain  declarations  that  an  act  of  Congress,  which 
assumes  power  over  a  subject-matter  not  delegated  to  it  by  the 
Constitution,  is  null  and  void.  It  was  for  a  long  time  claimed, 
and  I  believe  has  been  finally  settled,  that  Jefferson  was  the 
author  of  the  original  draft  of  the  Kentucky  resolutions,  and  also 
that  Henry  Clay  was  his  willing  disciple.  These  resolutions  were 
transmitted  to  the  various  States.  In  the  house  of  delegates 
of  Virginia  these  resolutions  were  the  work  of  James  Madison. 

Of  course  it  has  been  denied  time  and  again  that  the  Ken- 
tucky and  Virginia  resolutions  form  any  basis  whatever  for  the 
doctrine  of  nullification,  afterward  set  up  by  CALHOUN.  The 
reading  of  the  resolutions,  however,  show  conclusively  that 
these  resolutions  declare  certain  acts  of  Congress  null  and  void. 

And  in  the  case  of  the  Virginia  resolutions  the  claim  is  dis- 
tinctly made  that  the  States  have  the  right  and  are  in  duty 
bound  to  interpose  for  arresting  the  progress  of  the  evil.  CAL- 
HOUN'S  view  was  that  one  State  might  interpose  for  this  purpose. 
The  passage  of  the  embargo  act  and  other  acts  in  restraint  of 
commerce,  prohibiting  foreign  shipments  during  the  latter  part 
of  Mr.  Jefferson's  second  administration  on  account  of  the  high- 
handed and  unwarranted  acts  of  Great  Britain  in  seizing  our 
merchantmen  and  imprisoning  American  sailors  on  the  high 
seas  was  a  very  unpopular  law  in  New  England.  As  a  result  of 
this,  when  persons  were  arrested  and  tried  for  a  violation  of  the 
embargo  act  in  one  of  the  New  England  States,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  the  law  had  been  held  to  be  constitutional  by  a 
United  States  district  court,  the  plea  was  made  to  the  juries  that 
the  act  was  unconstitutional  and  the  defendants  were  found  not 
guilty  on  this  ground.  Here  was  a  practical  nullification  of  an 
act  of  Congress  in  a  court  of  law. 


126  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 


It  is  a  well-known  historical  fact  that  during  this  period,  and 
also  during  the  continuance  of  the  war  of  1812,  during  which 
time  the  Hartford  convention  was  held,  the  doctrine  was 
preached  and  concurred  in  by  a  large  number  of  the  Federalist 
party  that  the  time  had  come  for  the  separation  of  New  England 
from  the  other  States.  The  war  of  1812  was  very  unpopular 
throughout  New  England,  and  separation  or  secession  was 
largely  advocated.  In  fact,  the  right  of  a  sovereign  State  to 
secede  was  conceded  up  to  1828  by  a  majority  of  the  people  in 
this  country.  It  is  true  that  John  Quincy  Adams  did  not  hold 
to  this  view,  and  it  is  also  true  that  Andrew  Jackson,  during  his 
second  administration,  most  emphatically  denied  that  a  State 
had  a  right  to  secede  from  the  Union.  I  have  stated  these  facts 
in  order  to  show  that  CALHOUN  was  not  the  author  of  the  doc- 
trine of  nullification.  He  was  never  at  any  time  a  secessionist, 
and  this  leads  up  to  what  may  be  properly  termed  a  historical 
sketch  of  his  life. 

Born  March  18,  1782,  in  Abbeville  district,  South  Carolina. 
His  parents,  Patrick  and  Martha  Caldwell  Calhoun,  were  both 
of  Scotch  descent.  From  this  fact  may  be  explained  his  main 
characteristics — his  severity,  lack  of  humor,  and  rather  dog- 
matic opinions.  These  characteristics  are  strikingly  illustrated 
in  the  later  years  of  his  life.  The  clear,  consistent  logic  by  which 
he  arrived  at  conclusions  and  the  intensity  of  convictions  with 
which  he  supported  them  are  the  main  elements  which  consti- 
tuted his  strength  and  character  of  statesmanship. 

His  early  views  were  no  doubt  largely  influenced  by  his  father, 
Patrick  Calhoun,  who  was  a  Whig  before  and  during  the  Revo- 
lution of  the  most  ardent  type,  and  very  self-opinionated  in  his 
views.  His  rough  frontier  life  had  inculcated  in  him  an  un- 
quenchable desire  for  liberty  and  a  feeling  of  opposition  to  any- 
thing tending  in  the  least  toward  curtailing  that  liberty.  It  is 


Address  of  Mr.  Finley,of  South  Carolina     127 

related  of  Patrick  Calhoun  that,  some  thirty  years  before  his 
death,  the  right  of  himself  and  neighbors  to  vote  being  denied 
by  the  low  country,  he  and  his  neighbors  shouldered  their  rifles 
and  marched  to  within  23  miles  of  Charleston,  when  the  right  to 
vote  was  not  only  accorded  to  them,  but  Patrick  Calhoun  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  colonial  legislature,  and  as  such  served 
for  thirty  years  thereafter. 

Much  of  this  feeling  his  son  imbibed  and  retained  all  through 
his  life.  Up  to  the  age  of  13  Mr.  CALHOUN'S  only  education 
was  what  he  had  been  able  to  pick  up  and  to  learn  from  his 
father  and  mother.  At  this  time  he  was  placed  under  the  care 
of  his  brother-in-law,  Doctor  Waddell,  a  Presbyterian  minister, 
who  maintained  an  academy  in  Columbia  County,  Ga.  Here  he 
remained  for  a  year,  when  the  death  of  his  father  took  place; 
and  upon  the  subsequent  death  of  his  sister,  a  few  months  later, 
Doctor  Waddell  discontinued  his  school,  and  the  boy's  educa- 
tion was  for  the  time  at  an  end.  His  mother  brought  him  back 
to  the  plantation  in  Abbeville  district,  where  he  remained  for 
four  years  engaged  in  out-of-door  pursuits.  The  time  was  not 
lost,  however,  for  he  was  building  up  the  frame  that  was  to 
support  his  massive  brain  through  a  long  public  service.  When 
he  was  18  years  of  age,  at  the  instance  of  his  older  brother, 
James,  he  again  resumed  his  studies  and  returned  to  Doctor 
Waddell,  who  reopened  his  academy. 

Here  were  educated  some  of  the  greatest  Carolinians  of  their 
time,  such  as  George  McDuffie,  Hugh  S.  Le  Gare,  and  James 
Louis  Petigru.  Doctor  Waddell  was  a  teacher  of  most  unusual 
force  and  ability,  and  has  well  been  called  "Father  of  classical 
education  in  Georgia  and  the  upcountry  of  South  Carolina." 
The  progress  made  by  Mr.  CALHOUN  was  so  rapid  that  in  two 
years  he  entered  Yale  College  and  two  years  later  graduated 
with  distinction.  After  leaving  Yale  Mr.  CALHOUN  studied  law 


128  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

under  Judge  Gould  and  Mr.  Reeve,  two  eminent  jurists  of 
Litchfield,  Conn., -and  after  a  year  of  study  returned  to  South 
Carolina,  where  he  read  law  in  the  office  of  Mr.  Dessausure  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1807.  He  entered  upon  a  very 
lucrative  practice  in  Abbeville  district,  and  no  doubt  his  great 
talents  would  have  attained  for  him  a  high  degree  of  distinc- 
tion, but  politics  and  not  the  law  held  for  him  the  only  goal 
worth  striving  for  and  he  early  entered  the  service  of  his  country. 
At  a  public  meeting  held  in  Abbeville  district  in  1807  Mr. 
CALHOUN  was  appointed  to  draw  up  a  set  of  resolutions  con- 
demning the  action  of  the  English  frigate  Leopard  in  firing  on 
the  American  frigate  Chesapeake,  and  so  well  was  his  work  per- 
formed that  he  was  asked  to  address  the  meeting.  He  did  so 
with  such  credit  to  himself  that  in  the  next  election  he  was  sent 
to  the  state  legislature  at  the  head  of  the  ticket.  Here  his 
public  life  begins,  and  from  this  time  until  his  death  is  coincident 
with  the  history  of  his  country.  He  immediately  came  into 
public  notice  by  a  very  able  speech  which  he  made  against  the 
renomination  of  George  Clinton  as  the  party  candidate  for  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States.  He  served  with  distinction  in 
the  general  assembly  for  two  sessions,  and  so  highly  were  his 
services  esteemed  that  in  the  election  of  Members  for  the  Twelfth 
Congress,  in  which  selection  was  made  chiefly  with  a  view  to  the 
approaching  war  with  Great  Britain,  Mr.  CALHOUN  was  demanded 
as  a  candidate,  and  in  1810  was  elected  and  took  his  seat  in  the 
National  House  of  Representatives.  The  period  was  one  of  the 
most  critical  in  the  country's  history.  War  was  but  a  few  months 
off  and  as  yet  no  one  was  ready  for  it.  The  President  was  striv- 
ing strenuously  for  peace  and  Congress  was  a  disunited  body  of 
factions,  each  cutting  the  other's  throat  and  at  variance  as  to 
what  was  the  proper  course  to  pursue.  The  chief  source  of 
power  lay  in  the  House,  and  here  were  gathered  the  greatest 


Address  of  Mr.  Finley,  of  South  Carolina     129 


minds  from  all  over  the  country.  Henry  Clay,  at  the  age  of  34, 
was  Speaker  of  the  House,  and  as  chairman  of  the  Ways  and 
Means  Committee  he  appointed  Langdon  Cheves,  of  South  Caro- 
lina, who  was  only  a  year  older  than  himself.  William  Lowndes, 
also  of  South  Carolina,  and  at  the  time  only  29  years  of  age, 
was  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Naval  Affairs,  and  CALHOUN, 
29  years  old  also,  was  given  the  second  place  in  the  Committee 
on  Foreign  Relations. 

In  1814  Langdon  Cheves  became  Speaker  upon  the  withdrawal 
of  Clay  to  go  upon  his  mission  abroad,  and  CALHOUN  became 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations.  We  can  see 
the  preponderance  of  power  which  South  Carolina  wielded  at 
this  time  in  Congress.  The  voice  of  no  other  State  in  the 
Union  was  of  greater  weight  in  the  counsels  of  the  Nation.  In 
speaking  of  the  able  men  assembled  at  this  time,  Henry  Clay, 
in  his  eulogy  on  CALHOUN,  said: 

In  all  the  Congresses  with  which  I  have  had  any  acquaintance  since  my 
entry  into  the  Federal  Government,  in  none,  in  my  opinion,  has  been 
assembled  such  a  galaxy  of  eminent  and  able  men  as  were  those  Congresses 
which  declared  the  war  and  which  immediately  followed  the  peace. 

CALHOUN'S  first  effort  in  the  House  was  on  December  1 1 ,  181 1 , 
just  a  month  after  taking  his  seat,  and  whatever  doubts  his 
friends  may  have  entertained  as  to  how  he  would  bear  himself  in 
his  new  sphere  of  action  were  immediately  dispelled.  He  spoke 
in  defense  of  the  resolutions  emanating  from  his  committee  by 
which  immediate  preparations  for  war  were  recommended. 

It  was  the  enthusiastic  speech  of  a  young  man,  full  of  fire 
and  national  patriotism,  calling  his  country  to  arms.  His 
speech  was  in  the  nature  of  a  reply  to  that  of  the  eloquent 
John  Randolph,  who  had  condemned  the  policy  outlined  in  the 
resolutions.  Mr.  CALHOUN'S  maiden  effort  was  enthusiastically 
received,  not  only  by  the  House,  but  by  the  whole  country,  and 

43796°— 10 9 


130  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 


he  was  immediately  brought  into  prominence.  In  a  House  the 
leadership  of  which  was  vested  in  the  young  men,  he  was  at 
once  assigned  a  place  of  great  prominence.  Even  at  this  junc- 
ture he  was  hailed  as  "one  of  the  master  spirits  who  stamp 
their  names  upon  the  age  in  which  they  live." 

In  the  main,  Mr.  CALHOUN  was  a  supporter  of  the  adminis- 
tration. Republican  principles  were  deeply  ingrained  within 
him,  but  he  was  not  bound  by  any  political  ties.  He  relied 
upcn  his  judgment,  and  when  that  differed  from  the  course  of 
his  party  he  always  obeyed  the  dictates  of  his  conscience.  He 
early  acquired  a  reputation  for  fearlessness  and  sincerity  of 
conviction  that  never  left  him.  He  was  broad  in  his  outlook 
and  always  considered  the  interests  of  the  whole  country.  In 
his  own  words,  found  in  his  first  speech,  he  said: 

I  am  not  here  to  represent  my  own  State  alone.  I  renounce  the  idea, 
and  I  will  show  by  my  vote  that  I  contend  for  the  interests  of  the  whole 
people  of  this  community. 

The  young  men  leaders  of  the  House  were  in  favor  of  the 
war,  and  after  six  months'  time,  during  which  the  country  had 
sanctioned  their  policy,  they  waited  upon  the  President  and 
declared  that  they  were  ready  for  war. 

Accordingly  on  the  ist  of  June  the  President  sent  his  war 
message  to  Congress.  It  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Foreign  Relations,  of  which  CALHOUN  was  temporarily  in  charge, 
and  on  June  3  he  reported  the  recommendation  of  the  commit- 
tee that  war  be  declared.  This  famous  document  was  very  long 
and  presented  one  of  the  strongest  cases  against  Great  Britain 
ever  written.  A  year  later,  on  June  16,  1813,  he  made  a  speech 
in  defense  of  the  war  measure,  which  has  been  pronounced  "the 
strongest  defense  it  ever  received."  He  bitterly  denounced  the 
Federalists  as  being  unpatriotic  and  selfish.  It  was  not  their 
country's  welfare  they  were  seeking,  he  said,  but  her  harm,  and 
he.  severely  criticised  them  for  their  attitude  in  wishing  to  stop 


Address  of  Mr.  Finley,  of  South  Carolina     131 


the  war.  Nevertheless  upon  occasions  when  he  thought  the 
policy  of  the  Federalists  better  in  other  matters  he  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  vote  with  them.  In  the  matter  of  the  remission  of  dues 
on  goods  imported  before  the  declaration  of  war  he  voted  with 
the  Federalists  and  made  a  strong  speech  in  favor  of  remitting 
the  dues.  The  question  had  become  almost  one  of  party  im- 
portance, but  Mr.  CALHOUN  and  Mr.  Cheves  both  took  the 
broader  view  that  whatever  was  against  the  spirit  of  the  law 
was  wrong,  and  the  confiscation  of  goods  amounting  to  millions 
of  dollars  and  the  property  of  a  large  class  of  citizens  was  cer- 
tainly never  intended  when  the  law  governing  the  case  was 
passed.  Neither  did  he  think  that  a  compromise  should  be 
made  and  the  goods  made  to  become  a  forced  loan  to  the  Gov- 
ernment. Either  the  law  should  be  complied  with  and  the  goods 
confiscated  or  the  duties  should  be  remitted  entire ;  there  could 
be  no  middle  ground. 

The  result  of  his  speech  in  favor  of  remitting  the  tax  on  these 
goods,  together  with  that  of  his  colleague,  Mr.  Cheves,  was 
sufficient  to  carry  the  measure,  and  the  forfeiture  was  remitted 
upon  condition  that  the  customary  war  duties  on  the  goods 
should  be  paid. 

This  is  only  one  instance,  however,  in  which  Mr.  CALHOUN 
showed  his  courage  in  adhering  to  his  convictions  rather  than 
party  ties.  He,  along  with  his  distinguished  colleagues,  Mr. 
Cheves,  Mr.  Lowndes,  and  Mr.  Clay,  advocated  an  increase  in 
the  navy — a  policy  the  soundness  of  which  later  generations 
have  approved  and  followed.  This,  too,  was  opposed  by  the 
great  majority  of  the  Republican  party,  and  it  took  great  cour- 
age to  vote  against  that  organization  at  a  time  when  party 
spirit  was  at  its  highest  point.  This  broader  view  of  things  and 
loyalty  to  his  convictions  is  characteristic  of  CALHOUN  through- 
out, and  can  be  shown  in  many  instances  later  in  his  life.  His 
position,  too,  at  this  time  was  almost  unparalleled — a  young 


132  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

man  with  almost  no  legislative  experience,  he  was  thrust  at  the 
head  of  the  most  important  committee  in  the  House,  and  to  his 
judgment  were  left  questions  of  national  scope  and  importance. 
It  was  under  circumstances  like  these  that  he  dared  to  go  con- 
trary to  the  older  leaders  of  his  party,  but  so  well  did  he  sup- 
port his  views  and  sustain  himself  that  he  not  only  merited 
nothing  of  blame,  but  acquired  great  honor  and  reputation 
from  the  way  in  which  he  discharged  his  duties. 

In  two  or  three  other  very  important  measures  he  differed 
from  the  policy  of  his  party  and  succeeded  in  carrying  out  his 
views.  To  the  restrictive  policy  of  the  administration  he  was 
violently  opposed.  Mr.  CALHOUN  saw  that  the  time  was  ripe 
for  the  repeal  of  the  embargo,  and  accordingly  introduced  a 
bill  to  that  effect.  This,  by  reason  of  his  strong  arguments 
supporting  it,  passed. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  next  session,  1814-15,  he  opposed 
the  bill  which  his  party  advocated  for  the  establishment  of  a 
national  bank.  His  objection  to  it  was  that  it  was  intended 
only  to  give  aid  to  the  Government  through  its  ability  to  bor- 
row money,  and  he  also  opposed  the  bill  introduced  by  Daniel 
Webster  as  a  substitute.  Another  bill  was  introduced  by  the 
administration,  but  this,  too,  failed  of  passage  by  the  timely 
arrival  of  the  treaty  of  peace,  on  the  day  of  its  third  reading. 
CALHOUN  had  been  widely  criticised  for  his  opposition  to  the 
bill,  but  his  wisdom  now  became  apparent,  and  the  country 
-was  saved  from  being  committed  to  a  policy  ruinous  to  its 
interests.  At  the  next  session,  in  recognition  of  his  ability  to 
handle  financial  affairs,  CALHOUN  was  placed  at  the  head  of 
the  Committee  of  the  Currency.  He  now  framed  and  suc- 
cessfully carried  through  a  bank  bill  which  provided  for  the 
establishment  of  a  federal  bank  and  regulated  the  disordered 
currency. 


Address  of  Mr.  Finley,  of  South  Carolina     133 

He  was  much  gratified  at  the  successful  outcome  of  the  war, 
in  that  he,  as  much  as  anyone  else  in  Congress,  had  been  instru- 
mental in  precipitating  it.  The  tariff  bill  of  1816,  introduced 
by  Mr.  Lowndes,  was  heartily  approved  by  him,  and  while  he 
has  been  credited  with  its  introduction,  and  even  called  the 
author  of  the  "protective  system,"  nothing  is  further  from  the 
truth.  He  was  in  full  sympathy  with  it,  but  was  engaged  with 
his  own  bill  on  the  establishment  of  a  bank,  and  made  only  an 
offhand  speech  in  favor  of  the  new  tariff. 

He  did,  however,  take  an  active  and  prominent  part  in  the 
effort  for  construction  of  a  system  of  roads  and  canals  by  the 
Central  Government.  This  policy  was  recommended  to  Con- 
gress by  Mr.  Madison,  and  in  December,  1816,  Mr.  CALHOUN 
introduced  a  bill,  in  which  it  was  provided  that  the  profits  of 
the  United  States  Bank  should  be  devoted  to  these  improve- 
ments. This  bill  was  passed  by  Congress,  but  was  vetoed  by 
the  President  as  being  unconstitutional.  Mr.  CALHOUN  later 
changed  his  views.  This  was  among  the  last  important  con- 
gressional efforts  of  Mr.  CALHOUN-  in  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives. Upon  a  summary  of  his  work  in  the  House,  completed 
in  six  short  years  and  at  one  of  the  most  trying  periods  of  the 
country's  history,  we  find  a  summary  of  it  to  be:  He  was 
highly  instrumental  in  bringing  on  the  war,  and  in  this  he  was 
right.  Had  the  Federalists  been  given  free  rein  the  country 
would  have  continued  to  submit  to  outrages  and  a  feeling  of 
disaffection  engendered  for  a  government  which  so  poorly  con- 
ducted affairs.  There  would  have  grown  up  a  party  within  the 
Union  which  would  have  split  the  country,  and  possibly  a  part 
of  it  fallen  again  the  prey  of  Great  Britain.  In  this  policy  of 
the  war  he  was  preeminently  right.  He  opposed  the  embargo, 
and  in  this  he  was  right.  He  secured  the  establishment  of  a 
banking  system  which  rescued  the  country  from  ruin  and  placed 


134          Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

financial  matters  on  a  firm  basis.  He  advocated  a  programme 
of  naval  extension  which  later  generations  have  approved  and 
followed. 

Finally  he  proposed  the  construction  by  the  Government  of 
canals  and  roads,  and  in  this  he  permitted  an  intense  national- 
ism to  commit  him  to  a  policy  which  he  later  repudiated. 

So,  that  out  of  five  great  measures  advocated  by  Mr.  CALHOUN, 
four  have  proven  uncontrovertibly  right,  although  at  the  time 
some  of  these  were  opposed  even  by  his  own  party.  In  this 
light  the  work  of  the  young  statesman  must  seem  remarkable; 
such  judgment  and  ability  to  prosecute  his  ideas  showed,  even 
at  this  early  period,  that  he  was  a  statesman  of  broad  vision 
and  qualified  to  exercise  a  potent  influence  on  the  country's 
history. 

The  second  period  of  Mr.  CALHOUN'S  political  activity  began 
in  December,  1817,  when,  upon  the  organization  of  his  admin- 
istration, Mr.  Monroe  offered  him  the  post  of  Secretary  of  War. 
Mr.  CALHOUN  accepted  this  position  much  against  the  wishes 
of  his  friends  in  Congress,  who  thought  his  powers  legislative 
rather  than  executive,  and  advised  him  against  entering  a  field 
of  activity  in  which  success  seemed  so  doubtful.  The  War 
Department  was  in  the  greatest  disorder. 

Mr.  CALHOUN 's  knowledge  of  miltary  affairs  was  very  limited, 
and  it  seemed  unlikely  that  with  his  inexperience  he  could 
bring  order  out  of  chaos.  Nevertheless  he  determined  to 
accept  the  position.  So  well  did  he  master  the  difficulties  of 
his  new  situation  that  at  the  end  of  three  months  he  brought 
forward  a  bill,  which  he  himself  had  drawn  up,  providing  for  a 
complete  reorganization  of  the  department,  and  though  the 
bill  had  considerable  opposition  he  succeeded  in  getting  it 
through  Congress.  He  formulated  a  system  by  which  the 
department  was  to  be  governed  by  bureaus,  and  so  well  did  his 


Address  of  Mr.  Finley,of  South  Carolina     135 

system  work  that  with  changes  it  has  been  maintained  up  to  the 
present  day.  He  aided  the  President  in  the  selection  of  heads 
for  each  of  these  bureaus,  and  further  drew  up  a  code  of  rules 
for  the  department  which  were  productive  of  great  efficiency 
in  his  subordinates.  The  unliquidated  debts  in  the  War 
Department  when  he  assumed  control  amounted  to  $40,000,000; 
he  reduced  them  to  less  than  three  million  in  a  comparatively 
short  time.  The  annual  expenses  of  the  department  he  reduced 
from  $4,000,000  to  $2,500,000  without  reducing  the  pay  of  the 
men  in  the  army  or  in  the  matter  of  supplies.  He  established 
an  efficient  basis  for  the  Military  Academy  at  West  Point  and 
secured  proper  legislation  for  its  enlargement  and  reorganiza- 
tion. He  had  made  an  accurate  survey  of  the  frontier,  and  planned 
a  scheme  embracing  a  line  of  coast  defense,  but  this  plan  was 
thwarted  by  politicians.  Another  measure  which  was  inau- 
gurated by  Mr.  CALHOUN,  and  has  since  been  widely  copied, 
especially  by  England,  is  the  order  which  he  gave  to  all  surgeons 
of  the  United  States  Army  stationed  at  military  posts  over  the 
country  to  report  to  the  department  all  diseases,  their  treat- 
ment, changes  of  the  temperature,  moisture,  and  winds.  The 
result  has  been  a  large  collection  of  very  important  data  regard- 
ing this  phase  of  our  country's  development. 

The  credit  for  this  very  enlightened  policy  must  always  go  to 
Mr.  CALHOUN.  So  completely  and  ably  did  he  reorganize  his  de- 
partment that  General  Bernard,  who  was  chief  of  the  board  of 
engineers  under  Mr.  CALHOUN  and  had  been  on  the  staff  of  the 
great  Napoleon,  declared  that  the  executive  ability  of  Mr.  CAL- 
HOUN was  fully  equal  to  that  of  his  former  chieftain.  This  was 
a  very  high  compliment  to  Mr.  CALHOUN'S  administration  as 
Secretary  of  War,  and  is  an  indication  of  the  efficiency  with 
which  he  discharged  the  duties  of  the  office.  It  was  during  his 
second  term  of  office  as  Secretary  of  War  that  his  name  was 


136  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

placed  in  nomination  for  the  Presidency.  There  were  before  the 
people  six  candidates  for  the  office — Mr.  Adams,  Mr.  William  H. 
Crawford,  General  Jackson,  Mr.  Clay,  Mr.  William  Lowndes, 
and  Mr.  CALHOUN.  The  rather  unusual  spectacle  was  presented 
of  two  friends  from  the  same  State  being  placed  in  nomination 
and  still  continuing  a  very  warm  friendship.  Mr.  Lowndes 
was  nominated  by  the  legislature  of  South  Carolina  and  Mr. 
CALHOUN  by  his  friends  in  Pennsylvania,  neither  gentleman 
being  aware  of  the  fact  until  their  nominations  had  been 
made.  Within  a  year,  in  the  prime  of  life  and  the  midst  of 
great  usefulness,  Mr.  Lowndes  died,  and  upon  the  nomination 
of  General  Jackson,  Mr.  CALHOUN,  foreseeing  that  he  could  not 
be  elected,  withdrew  his  name  from  the  race  and  permitted 
himself  to  be  nominated  for  the  Vice-Presidency.  He  was 
elected  by  a  very  large  majority,  and  on  March  4,  1825,  took 
the  oath  of  office  as  Vice- President  along  with  John  Quincy 
Adams,  who  had  been  elected  to  the  first  place. 

Why  Mr.  CALHOUN  permitted  himself  to  be  removed  from 
an  active  participation  in  events  has  never  been  fully  deter- 
mined. Possibly  because  of  the  proximity  of  the  office  to  that 
of  President.  However,  no  Executive  had  died  during  his  term 
of  office,  and  it  was  always  the  great  desire  of  Mr.  CALHOUN'S 
life  to  become  President,  and  when  he  saw  that  the  candi- 
dates in  public  life  were  cutting  each  others'  throats,  no  doubt 
he  thought  more  advantage  might  come  from  his  withdrawal 
from  the  arena  for  a  few  years.  Be  that  as  it  may,  he  ac- 
cepted the  office  and  his  duties  as  presiding  officer  of  the  Sen- 
ate, which  duties,  contrary  to  the  custom  of  the  time,  he  was 
scrupulous  to  perform.  The  principal  incident  of  his  term  of 
office  was  the  rather  remarkable  correspondence  which  he 
carried  on  with  the  President  through  the  columns  of  the  news- 
papers. Several  Senators  were  never  careful  as  to  the  violence 


Address  of  Mr.  Finley,  of  South  Carolina     137 

of  their  language  in  attacking  the  administration,  and  as  Mr. 
CALHOUN  though  it  out  of  his  province  to  call  them  to  order, 
the  President  indulged  in  a  series  of  very  bitter  denunciations 
directed  against  the  Vice- President,  to  which  Mr.  CALHOUN  re- 
plied with  equal  vigor.  The  result  was  a  drawn  battle.  The 
Senate  passed  a  rule  authorizing  the  presiding  officer  to  call 
to  order  a  Senator  for  words  spoken  on  the  floor;  thus  Mr. 
Adams  gained  his  point.  Nevertheless,  the  Senate  deemed  it 
necessary  to  make  this  rule  giving  the  Vice- President  the  power; 
so  it  was  evident  that  the  power  had  not  existed  prior  to  the 
rule,  and  in  this  Mr.  CALHOUN  was  also  justified. 

CALHOUN  was  very  strongly  in  favor  of  the  election  of  General 
Jackson  as  Mr.  Adams's  successor,  and  was  again  placed  second 
on  the  ticket  as  the  party's  nominee  for  Vice- President.  His 
reason  for  favoring  General  Jackson  was  that  he  believed  the 
general  in  sympathy  with  the  people  of  South  Carolina  (his 
native  State)  and  the  other  States  who  were  being  ruined  by 
the  high  protective  tariff  then  in  force  and  were  equally  de- 
sirous of  its  reduction.  The  tariff  of  1824  was  a  great  advance 
over  that  of  1816,  which  Mr.  CALHOUN  had  aided  in  passing  and 
which  was  a  matter  of  indifference  to  the  then  prosperous  people 
of  South  Carolina.  In  1824,  when  the  tariff  bill  was  passed 
by  Congress,  the  legislature  of  South  Carolina  passed  a  resolu- 
tion to  the  effect  that  the  bill  was  contrary  to  the  Constitution 
and  an  unwarrantable  exercise  of  federal  power.  The  indus- 
tries of  the  State  were  languishing,  the  income  of  the  State  was 
being  each  year  diminished,  and  its  citizens  impoverished.  It 
was  impossible  that  a  people  should  favor  a  tariff  which  brought 
about  such  conditions.  No  people  ever  yet  courted  economic 
ruin,  and  it  was  to  be  expected  that  their  representatives  would 
share  their  feelings. 


138          Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 


The  products  of  the  Northern  States  \vere  protected,  and 
those  States  were  growing  prosperous  under  a  policy  which 
threatened  the  ruin  of  the  South.  Naturally  the  South  was  in- 
dignant, and  demanded  the  reduction  of  a  tariff  which  favored 
only  one  section  of  the  country.  South  Carolina  had  protested 
against  the  tariff  of  1824  as  injurious  to  the  industries  of  the 
State  and  therefore  unconstitutional;  but  when,  in  1827,  a 
still  higher  tariff  was  proposed  it  was  felt  that  something  must 
be  done.  Up  to  this  time  CALHOUN  had  remained  somewhat 
neutral,  but  now  he  took  his  first  decisive  step  and  cast  in  his 
lot  with  the  antitariff  party.  Feeling  at  this  time  in  South 
Carolina  was  very  intense.  Led  by  Doctor  Cooper,  president  of 
the  South  Carolina  College,  a  party  was  being  formed  which 
was  strongly  antitariff  in  character.  Doctor  Cooper  was  a  man 
of  great  learning,  ability,  and  influence.  He  was  pronounced 
by  Thomas  Jefferson  to  be  the  "greatest  man  in  America,"  and 
by  John  Quincy  Adams  "a  learned,  ingenious,  scientific,  and 
talented  madcap."  Doctor  Cooper  addressed  an  antitariff 
meeting  held  in  Columbia,  and  in  1824  wrote  a  pamphlet  in 
which  he  said  that  the  action  of  Congress  in  passing  a  tariff 
act  so  injurious  to  a  large  section  of  the  country  was  "cal- 
culated to  bring  on  the  dangerous  inquiry,"  Was  the  South 
benefited  by  being  in  the  Union,  which  used  her  only  as  a  trib- 
utary to  another  section  of  the  country?  Public  sentiment  was 
rapidly  crystallizing  in  South  Carolina,  and  CALHOUN  was  forced 
by  necessity  to  take  a  stand  upon  this  issue. 

In  1828  the  tariff  known  as  the  "tariff  of  abominations" 
was  passed,  and  feeling  in  South  Carolina  was  brought  to  a  high 
pitch.  When  asked  what  should  be  done,  CALHOUN  frankly  said 
that  no  relief  could  be  expected  from  Congress.  He  counseled 
moderation  and  placed  his  hopes  in  the  election  of  General 
Jackson,  who,  he  thought,  could  and  would  be  able  to  bring 


Address  of  Mr.  Finley,  of  South  Carolina     139 


about  a  reduction  of  duties  to  a  revenue  standard.  Should 
this  change  of  administration  not  give  the  desired  relief,  only 
one  course  appeared  to  be  open,  and  that  was  the  interposition 
by  the  State  of  the  veto.  This,  however,  was  a  last  resort 
and  to  be  used  only  in  a  case  of  the  greatest  emergency.  CAL- 
HOUN  had  not  yet  mapped  out  his  programme  nor  had  he  come 
to  a  conclusion  as  to  the  proper  method  of  dealing  with  this 
question.  When  Congress  adjourned  on  May  26,  1828,  he  re- 
turned to  his  home  in  Pendleton,  where  he  spent  the  summer  in 
an  exchange  of  ideas  with  the  leading  men  of  the  State.  In  July 
he  was  not  a  nullifier,  but  by  October  he  had  come  to  a  conclu- 
sion. He  had  worked  out  his  theory  and  from  now  on  his  life 
was  devoted  to  this  single  aim — the  successful  establishment  of 
this  theory.  Meanwhile  the  legislature  of  1828-29  was  about 
to  convene.  Propositions  to  call  a  state  convention  were  coming 
thick  and  fast,  and  this  would  mean  violent  measures,  for  the 
action  of  such  a  convention  could  readily  be  foreseen.  As  a 
check  to  such  a  movement,  the  committee  on  federal  relations, 
led  by  William  C.  Preston,  who  was  afterwards  a  Member  of 
the  United  States  Senate,  reported  a  document,  which  had  been 
obtained  from  CALHOUN.  This  document  contained  the  theory 
he  had  recently  worked  out  as  to  the  nature  of  the  trouble  and 
the  remedy  that  should  be  applied.  It  was  the  great  exposition 
of  1828. 

The  legislature  at  once  had  5,000  copies  printed  and  dis- 
tributed and  gave  to  it  the  title  of  "The  South  Carolina  Expo- 
sition and  Protest  on  the  Subject  of  the  Tariff."  It  became  the 
platform  upon  which  all  future  action  in  South  Carolina  was 
based,  and  was  to  the  now  distracted  State  a  document  almost 
inspired.  From  now  on  CALHOUN'S  position  is  defined  and  his 
purpose  fixed.  For  just  a  moment  let  us  see  what  his  true 
sentiments  were. 


140  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 


The  following  statement  is  given  in  Jenkin's  Life : 

First.  He  believed  that  the  Federal  Constitution  was  a  com- 
pact adopted  and  ratified  by  and  between  the  States  in  their 
sovereign  capacity  as  States. 

Second.  That  the  General  Government  contemplated  and  au- 
thorized by  this  Constitution  was  the  mere  agent  of  the  States 
in  the  execution  of  certain  delegated  powers  in  regard  to  the 
extent  of  which  the  States  themselves  were  the  final  judges. 

Third.  That  when  the  reserved  powers  were  infringed  by  the 
General  Government  or  the  delegated  powers  abused,  its  prin- 
cipals, the  States,  possessed  the  right  of  state  interposition  or 
nullification;  otherwise,  there  would  be  no  remedy  for  any  usur- 
pation of  the  reserved  or  abuse  of  the  delegated  powers. 

Mr.  CALHOUN'S  theory  as  outlined  above  was  based  directly 
upon  the  Virginia  and  Kentucky  resolutions,  although  he  car- 
ried his  theory  further  than  these  resolutions. 

The  Kentucky  and  Virginia  resolutions  were  called  forth  by 
the  passage  through  Congress  of  the  obnoxious  acts  known 
as  the  alien  and  sedition  laws.  The  alien  law  gave  the  Presi- 
dent power  to  remove  from  the  country  or  to  imprison  any 
alien  he  deemed  a  dangerous  or  treasonable  person,  thus  con- 
ferring upon  him  despotic  power.  The  sedition  law  provided 
that  anyone  should  be  imprisoned  who  should  "write,  print, 
utter,  or  publish"  anything  detrimental  to  the  Government — 
either  House  of  Congress  or  the  President.  These  two  remark- 
able acts  appeared  to  be  only  the  first  steps  toward  a  complete 
centralization  of  power.  It  was  against  such  laws  as  these 
that  the  Virginia  and  Kentucky  resolutions  were  directed. 
The  Virginia  resolutions  declared  that  in  the  States  alone  lay 
the  right  of  interference  whenever  the  powers  reserved  by 
them  were  endangered,  and  that  they  had  the  right  to  maintain 
"within  their  respective  limits  the  authorities,  rights,  and 


Address  of  Mr.  Finley,  of  South  Carolina     141 


liberties  appertaining  to  them."  This  stated  very  clearly  the 
attitude  of  Virginia  on  the  question,  but  even  more  definite 
were  the  Kentucky  resolutions,  as  written  by  Mr.  Jefferson. 

Such  was  the  text  of  the  Kentucky  resolutions  as  drawn  up 
by  Jefferson,  and  so  clearly  did  they  conform  to  the  view  later 
and  independently  promulgated  by  CALHOUN  as  to  be  the  basis 
for  his  doctrine  of  nullification.  These  alone,  with  the  report  of 
Mr.  Madison  on  the  Virginia  resolutions  mentioned  above,  were 
taken  by  the  States  Rights  party  as  the  foundation  for  their 
doctrine.  Their  opponents  denied  the" construction  placed  upon 
these  documents  and  also  that  the  Kentucky  resolutions  ema- 
nated from  Mr.  Jefferson.  This  last  became  a  point  of  great 
importance  and  was  not  settled  until  March  13,  1832,  when  Mr. 
Ritchie,  the  editor  of  the  Richmond  Enquirer,  published  a  state- 
ment that  in  some  papers  of  Mr.  Jefferson  were  found  two  copies 
of  the  Kentucky  resolutions  in  his  own  handwriting,  which  ap- 
peared to  be  the  original  draft.  Such,  then,  was  the  foundation 
upon  which  Mr.  CALHOUN  based  his  theory,  and  it  would  seem 
very  difficult  of  contradiction.  The  construction  he  placed  upon 
them  was  that  the  Central  Government,  including  Congress,  was 
a  creature  of  the  States  and  the  Constitution  only  a  compact 
between  them ;  that  any  assumption  of  powers  by  Congress  which 
had  not  been  delegated  by  the  States  was  an  infringement  of 
the  compact ;  and  the  States,  being  the  supreme  authors  of  the 
compact,  were  the  ones  to  pass  judgment  upon  the  matter. 

Nothing  in  the  way  of  statement  could  be  more  explicit,  and 
from  this  CALHOUN  derived  the  authority  for  his  construction 
of  the  Constitution.  In  essence  his  conviction  was  this:  The 
Constitution  was  made  for  the  States,  not  the  States  for  the 
Constitution;  the  Government  was  made  for  the  people,  not  the 
people  for  the  Government.  His  argument  ir  beautifully  clear 
in  all  respects.  In  1843,  about  fifteen  years  after  the  famous 


142          Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

exposition  of  1828,  in  which  he  laid  down  the  platform  for  his 
future  conduct,  he  began  to  embody  his  views  of  government 
and  construction  of  the  Constitution  in  a  treatise  to  which  he 
gave  the  name  of  A  Disquisition  on  Government.  Following 
this,  he  started  A  Discourse  on  the  Constitution  and  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  which,  however,  owing  to  his  death  in 
1850,  was  never  finished.  The  underlying  principle  of  the 
Disquisition  on  Government  is  that  government  by  the  majority 
always  results  "in  despotism  on  the  minority  unless  each  class 
or  community  in  the  State  has  a  check  upon  the  acts  of  the 
majority." 

He  says  that — 

Each,  in  consequence,  has  a  greater  regard  for  his  own  safety  or 
happiness  than  of  others;  and,  where  these  would  come  in  opposition, 
is  ready  to  sacrifice  the  interests  of  others  to  his  own. 

So  that  it  is  only  in  the  natural  course  of  events  that  the  party 
in  power  would  continue  a  tariff  which,  though  ruinous  to  the 
interest  of  the  minority,  is  beneficial  to  them.  To  give  some 
protection  to  the  minority,  he  considers  a  check  of  some  sort 
necessary;  and  from  where  can  this  come  but  from  the  States 
themselves?  In  this  way  he  justifies  nullification,  and  cites  as 
a  precedent  the  sentiments  embodied  by  Jefferson  in  the  Ken- 
tucky resolutions.  Such,  in  brief,  is  the  CALHOUN  doctrine,  to 
the  furtherance  of  which  the  great  nullifier  devoted  the  remain- 
der of  his  life. 

But  to  resume  the  narrative  of  events:  In  December,  1829, 
the  first  message  of  President  Jackson  to  Congress  gave  no  hope 
to  the  enemies  of  the  tariff  in  South  Carolina;  nor  did  'succeed- 
ing events  give  more  than  a  flickering  ray  of  hope,  which  served 
only  by  disappointment  to  intensify  the  feeling.  The  State 
saw  that  nothing  could  be  expected  by  a  permanent  distribu- 
tion of  the  surplus  revenue,  made  possible  by  a  perpetual  pro- 


Address  of  Mr.  Finley,  of  South  Carolina     143 


tective  tariff,  and  this,  too,  when  the  only  necessity  for  such  a 
tariff  was  the  selfish  interests  of  the  party  in  power.  There- 
fore the  States  Rights  party  in  South  Carolina  determined  on 
action.  The  election  was  conducted  upon  the  great  issue  of 
whether  the  States  Rights  or  Union  party  should  obtain  the 
necessary  majority  in  the  house.  It  was  required  that  two- 
thirds  of  the  members  of  the  legislature  must  vote  for  the 
calling  of  a  convention,  and  in  the  election  more  than  this  num- 
ber were  returned  to  the  house  by  the  States  Rights  party. 
Accordingly  a  convention  of  the  State  was  called,  which,  on 
November  24,  1832,  passed  the  ordinance  of  nullification, 
accompanied  by  an  address  to  the  people  of  South  Carolina  and 
also  to  their  co  States,  setting  forth  the  reason  for  their  action. 
The  time  was  one  of  great  excitement  and  the  termination 
of  events  very  uncertain.  A  vacancy  was  made  in  the  Senate 
by  the  resignation  of  General  Hayne  to  become  governor  of 
South  Carolina,  and  Mr.  CALHOUN  was  elected  by  the  legislature 
to  fill  that  position.  His  task  was  one  of  the  greatest  difficulty. 
Deserted  by  all  his  former  political  friends,  he  and  the  State 
of  South  Carolina  stood  alone.  Surrounded  on  all  sides  by 
enemies,  threatened  with  treason  and  military  subjection  by  a 
hostile  President,  isolated  on  all  sides,  he  stood  to  fall  or  rise 
with  his  State.  His  journey  to  Washington  was  one  of  mingled 
feelings.  Great  crowds  gathered  to  see  him  pass,  and  when  he 
entered  the  Senate  Chamber  it  was  crowded  with  curious  and 
eager  spectators.  Many  expected  immediate  arrest,  and  all 
were  curious  to  see  how  he  would  conduct  himself.  He  soon 
fulfilled  their  expectations  by  a  resolution  calling  upon  the 
President  to  lay  before  the  Senate  the  ordinance  of  nullification, 
and  in  this  way  the  matter  was  brought  under  consideration.  It 
was  understood  by  Mr.  CALHOUN  that  President  Jackson  would 
in  two  or  three  days'  time  send  to  the  Senate  a  message  on  the 


144  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

subject,  but  when  CALHOUN  entered  the  Chamber  the  next  day 
and  found  the  Secretary  of  the  Senate  reading  a  communication 
from  the  Chief  Executive  it  was  a  great  surprise  and  found  him 
unprepared.  Nevertheless,  at  its  conclusion,  he  arose,  and  in  a 
vigorous  and  very  creditable  speech  replied  to  the  message.  The 
message  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Judiciary,  which  soon 
reported  a  bill  giving  the  President  greatly  increased  powers  as 
to  money  and  men.  It  empowered  him  to  employ  force  in  the 
execution  of  the  tariff  law,  and  was  known  in  history  as  the 
force  bill.  In  other  words,  it  brought  matters  to  a  crisis.  In 
reply  CALHOUN  offered  three  resolutions: 

1.  That  the  States  were  parties  to  the  Constitution  and  the 
Union  as  separate  sovereignties. 

2.  That  they  had  delegated  certain  defined  powers  and  no 
more  to  the  Federal  Government,  and  when  powers  not  dele- 
gated were  exercised  the  acts  were  null  and  void,  the  judges 
of  the  infraction  being  the  parties  to  the  compact. 

3.  That  the  idea  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  formed 
a  nation  was  a  present  and  historical  fallacy. 

If  the  Senate  had  admitted  the  truth  of  the  resolutions, 
CALHOUN  would  have  made  good  his  justification  of  nullification. 
However,  the 'Senate  would  not  consent  to  a  consideration  of 
the  resolutions,  and  after  tabling  them  proceeded  to  a  discus- 
sion of  the  force  bill.  The  debate  was  well  conducted  on  both 
sides,  but  the  titanic  battle  was  between  Webster  and  CALHOUN. 
Mr.  CALHOUN  was  forced  to  open  up  the  duel,  which  he  did  in 
an  able  and  masterly  manner,  avoiding,  however,  a  discussion 
of  anything  but  the  most  general  principles  embodied  in  the 
resolutions,  in  order  that  he  might  have  an  opportunity  of  reply- 
ing to  Webster.  That  gentleman  followed  him  in  the  debate 
on  the  force  bill,  and  with  characteristic  ability  went  into  an 
investigation  of  the  principles  and  the  Government's  foundation, 


Address  of  Mr.  Finley,of  South  Carolina     145 

defending  his  view  with  consummate  skill,  and  sharply  attack- 
ing Mr.  CALHOUN'S  position.  At  Mr.  CALHOUN'S  request  the 
Senate  appointed  a  day  on  which  he  was  to  reply  to  Mr.  Web- 
ster, and  accordingly,  on  February  15,  he  arose  to  make  the 
greatest  effort  of  his  life.  He  spoke  for  two  hours,  and  stream 
after  stream  of  relentless  logic  flowed  from  his  lips,  perfect  in 
its  consistency  and  logic.  He  defended  his  own  and  his  State's 
positions,  and  more  than  fulfilled  his  friends'  highest  expecta- 
tions. The  following  is  a  condensed  portion  of  his  speech : 

South  Carolina — 

He  said— 

had  not  claimed  a  right  to  annul  the  Constitution,  nor  to  resist  laws  made 
in  pursuance  of  the  Constitution,  but  those  made  without  its  authority. 
She  claimed  no  right  to  judge  of  the  delegated  powers  of  the  Constitution, 
but  of  the  powers  which  were  expressly  reserved  to  the  respective  States. 
The  reservation  was  against  the  United  States,  and  extended,  of  course, 
to  the  judiciary,  as  well  as  to  the  other  departments  of  the  Government. 
He  defended  himself  from  the  charge  of  having  been  a  protectionist  in  1816. 
The  tariff  then  adopted  had  been  primarily  a  revenue  measure,  framed  with 
reference  to  the  need  of  reducing  the  public  debt. 

He  goes  on  to  explain  the  errors  of  the  bill,  and  asks  if  by 
this  one  act  he  had  forever  committed  himself  to  a  policy  which 
had  been  extended  into  a  system  of  oppression,  by  which  one 
section  of  the  country  was  prospering  at  the  expense  of  another. 
He  continued  with  an  analysis  of  the  tariff,  and  concluded  with 
an  exposition  of  the  Constitution. 

The  speech  will  undoubtedly  rank  as  one  of  the  greatest 
efforts  in  history,  and  surpassed  any  speech  previously  or  sub- 
sequently made  by  Mr.  CALHOUK. 

In  the  duel  of  words  which  followed  between  Mr.  CALHOUN 
and  Mr.  Webster  much  eloquence  was  evinced  on  both  sides. 
With  the  clearness  of  vision  and  fairness  characteristic  of  the 

437960— 10 10 


146  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

man,  Mr.  Webster  granted  that  if  the  Constitution  was  a  com- 
pact between  the  States,  then  CALHOUN'S  position  was  proved, 
and  nullification  and  secession  were  justified.  Consequently, 
Mr.  CALHOUN  directed  all  his  energies  toward  establishing  the 
fact,  and  he  was  generally  conceded  to  have  proved  his  point. 
Mr.  Randolph,  who  was  present  in  the  Senate  Chamber  for  the 
last  time  during  this  speech,  congratulated  Mr.  CALHOUN,  and 
stated  that  he  regarded  his  arguments  as  unanswerable. 

The  force  bill  passed,  but  shortly  afterwards  a  compromise 
tariff  bill  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Clay,  which  was  agreed  to  by 
Mr.  CALHOUN.  It  surrendered  the  protective  principle  and 
established  the  ad  valorem  principle,  which  was  the  point  of  con- 
tention with  Mr.  CALHOUN.  It  provided  for  a  gradual  decrease 
in  duties  until  they  should  reach  the  revenue  standard,  and  this 
also  was  agreed  to  by  Mr.  CALHOUN.  He  recognized  the  impos- 
sibility of  suddenly  withdrawing  protection  from  industries 
which  had  been  accustomed  to  its  aid,  and,  so  long  as  the  pro- 
tective principle  was  surrendered,  was  willing  that  the  reduction 
should  be  gradual.  In  South  Carolina  the  compromise  act  was 
not  popular  at  first,  but  when  Mr.  CALHOUN  arrived  and  advised 
the  legislature  all  opposition  was  withdrawn.  This  ended  the 
memorable  nullification  controversy  in  South  Carolina.  It  had, 
from  the  standpoint  of  Mr.  CALHOUN  and  his  followers,  been  a 
success.  The  principle  for  which  they  contended  had  been 
established,  though  gradually;  the  State  had  emerged  from  the 
contest  with  honor  unimpaired  and  Mr.  CALHOUN  himself  with 
glory  beyond  any  he  had  ever  known  before. 

We  now  enter  upon  the  third  and  last  period  of  his  career. 
Through  his  connection  with  the  nullification  controversy  he 
was  to  become  the  leader  of  the  entire  South.  Nullification 
had  not  actually  been  carried  through,  but  by  a  threat  of  it 
Congress  had  been  forced  to  alter  the  tariff  in  accordance  with 


Address  of  Mr.  Finley,  of  South  Carolina     147 

one  State's  wishes  and  a  precedent  had  been  established.  Hence- 
forth nullification  was  to  be  absorbed  into  the  larger  doctrine 
of  state  sovereignty,  popularly  called  "States  rights,"  from 
which  it  had  emanated,  and  of  this  party  CALHOUN  was  to 
become  the  undisputed  leader.  His  standing,  both  as  to  purity 
of  motives  and  ability,  was  higher  than  it  had  been  at  any 
previous  time  and  the  work  he  had  done  was  a  great  one  for 
the  South.  The  effect  of  South  Carolina's  stand  was  to  be  of 
great  benefit  to  the  country.  Had  the  revenue  been  allowed  to 
flow  into  the  Treasury  in  such  a  great  stream  power  must 
eventually  have  been  centralized  at  Washington.  Thus  South 
Carolina's  act  assumed  patriotic  proportions  in  the  eye  of  the 
country,  as  it  had  always  done  in  the  State,  and  the  prestige 
of  CALHOUN  was  consequently  increased.  His  first  work  in 
the  Senate  after  the  passing  of  the  storm  of  nullification  was 
the  part  he  took  in  censuring  President  Jackson  for  removing 
the  Government's  deposits  from  the  Bank  of  the  United  States 
to  a  number  of  state  banks.  This  measure  was  regarded  as  a 
high-handed  measure  by  the  entire  Senate,  and  even  the  friends 
of  the  administration  tried  to  justify  it  only  on  the  strength 
of  its  expediency.  CALHOUN'S  knowledge  of  financial  affairs  was 
very  clear,  owing  to  the  careful  study  he  had  made  during  his 
service  in  the  House  twenty  years  before;  his  remarks  were 
listened  to  with  great  respect.  He  predicted  the  panic  which 
followed  a  few  years  later.  He  advocated  a  complete  separa- 
tion of  the  Government  from  the  banks  and  approved  of  the 
Independent  Treasury  bill.  This  bill  was  not  passed,  but  it  was 
the  forerunner  of  the  system  later  adopted.  Mr.  CALHOUN  voted 
for  the  bill  introduced  by  Mr.  Webster  to  recharter  the  United 
States  Bank  for  six  years,  although  it  lacked  much  of  meeting 
with  his  approval.  Much  of  this  period  was  devoted  to  a  con- 
troversy with  General  Jackson,  and  the  fight  was  waged  with 


148  Statue  of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun^ 


great  bitterness  on  both  sides.  His  relations  with  the  President 
had  long  since  ceased  to  be  friendly,  and  when  he  voted  for  the 
resolution  of  Mr.  Clay,  censuring  the  President  for  miscon- 
duct in  regard  to  the  banks,  the  duel  was  opened.  He  made  a 
number  of  withering  speeches  upon  the  course  pursued  by  the 
President,  and  in  this  connection  denounced  the  spoils  system 
he  had  inaugurated. 

This  system  of  the  President  had  no  support  in  Congress,  and 
when  CALHOUN  moved  the  appointment  of  a  committee  of  Sen- 
ators to  inquire  into  the  extent  of  the  executive  power  and  devise 
a  method  of  reducing  it,  it  met  with  no  opposition.  Mr.  CALHOUN 
himself  was  made  chairman  of  this  committee,  and  the  report 
was  so  heartily  approved  by  the  Senate  that  10,000  copies  were 
ordered  printed  for  distribution  throughout  the  country. 
CALHOUN'S  course  of  action  in  regard  to  Jackson  was  enthusias- 
tically received  in  the  city  of  Washington,  and  he  was  strongly 
supported  by  public  opinion  in  his  debate  with  Mr.  Benton. 
The  latter  violently  attacked  CALHOUN,  who  had  severely 
arraigned  the  spoils  system  of  the  administration.  The  debate 
was  conducted  by  CALHOUN  with  great  dignity,  and  in  the  out- 
come he  was  easily  victorious. 

The  next  great  question  which  occupied  the  attention  of  Mr. 
CALHOUN  was  the  reception  of  the  abolition  petitions.  Societies 
had  been  formed  throughout  the  Northern  and  Central  States, 
praying,  through  their  Representatives,  for  the  abolition  of 
slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  It  threatened  the  security 
and  peace  of  the  slave-holding  States,  and  Mr.  CALHOUN  re- 
garded it  as  an  attack  on  one  of  the  outposts  of  slavery  which 
must  by  all  means  be  repulsed.  Accordingly,  on  the  I2th  of 
April,  1836,  he  made  a  forceful  speech  declaring  that  the  peti- 
tions should  not  even  be  received.  Congress,  however,  decided 
that  such  a  course  of  action  would  appear  to  be  a  denial  of  the 


Address  of  Mr.  Finley,  of  South  Carolina     149 

right  of  petition  by  the  people  and  favored  the  reception  of  the 
petitions.  Mr.  CALHOUN  made  another  speech,  and  so  convinc- 
ing were  his  arguments  that  the  petitions,  after  having  been 
received,  were  laid  on  the  table. 

Shortly  afterwards,  in  1837,  as  Mr.  CALHOUN  had  foreseen 
and  predicted,  came  the  great  crash,  flooding  the  country  with 
financial  ruin.  Mr.  Van  Buren,  the  President,  recommended  a 
complete  separation  of  the  Government  from  the  banks,  and  in 
this  policy  was  supported  by  Mr.  CALHOUN.  He  advocated  his 
views  in  a  strong  speech  made  on  the  3d  day  of  October,  at  the 
special  session  called  to  consider  the  financial  status  of  the 
country.  It  was  not  until  late  in  July  that  a  satisfactory  bill 
passed  both  House  and  Senate  and,  after  receiving  the  Presi- 
dent's signature,  became  a  law.  The  Independent  Treasury  bill, 
as  it  was  called,  received  the  hearty  support  of  Mr.  CALHOUN, 
and  for  this  course  of  action  he  was  greatly  criticised.  What 
he  did  was  entirely  consistent  with  his  former  course  of  action, 
for  he  had  always  emphatically  declared  that  he  was  the  parti- 
san of  no  class  or  party.  Whatever  he  saw  was  for  the  best 
interest  of  the  country  he  supported,  and  he  had  pursued  this 
course;  hence  when  attacked  for  having  gone  over  to  the  admin- 
istrative party  he  indignantly  denied  the  ground  for  such  an 
attack.  Of  the  criticisms  of  the  press  he  took  no  notice,  but 
when  called  to  account  by  Mr.  Clay  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate, 
he  replied  in  a  speech  which,  for  eloquence,  has  never  been  sur- 
passed in  that  body.  His  words  bore  a  striking  resemblance  to 
the  De  Corona  of  Demosthenes,  and  were  in  much  the  same 
strain.  He  denied  the  charge  that  he  had  been  unfaithful  to 
his  party;  he  had  given  no  organization  his  allegiance,  and 
therefore  he  could  desert  none. 

What  the  motive  was  for  his  change  of  views,  he  was  willing  for  time 
to  disclose.  The  imputation  sinks  to  the  earth  with  the  groundless  charge 


150  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

on  which  it  rests.  I  stamp  it  with  scorn  in  the  dust.  I  pick  up  the  dart, 
which  fell  harmless  at  my  feet.  I  hurl  it  back.  What  the  Senator  charges 
me  with  unjustly,  he  has  actually  done.  He  went  over  on  a  memorable 
occasion,  and  did  not  leave  it  to  time  .to  disclose  his  motive. 

This  last  shot  drove  home,  for  he  was  alluding  to  Mr.  Clay's 
action  in  1825  in  connection  with  the  election  of  Mr.  Adams 
and  his  acceptance  of  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State.  The 
speech  continued  in  this  vein  of  fiery  eloquence,  and  completely 
justified  Mr.  CALHOUN'S  conduct.  He  refuted  Mr.  Clay's  charge, 
and  clearly  defined  his  own  position  with  a  manner  so  impas- 
sioned and  effective  as  to  leave  his  listeners  spellbound. 

Against  one  party  in  particular  was  Mr.  CALHOUN'S  wrath 
aroused — the  Abolitionists.  He  believed  them  capable  of  more 
mischief  and  of  more  dangerous  tendencies  than  any  other  sect 
in  the  country.  At  the  session  of  1837-38  he  offered  a  set  of 
resolutions  on  the  subject  of  abolitionism,  and  followed  them 
up  by  a  series  of  speeches  defining  his  position  on  the  slavery 
question.  Possibly  it  would  be  well  to  give  a  few  leading  prin- 
ciples of  Mr.  CALHOUN'S  belief,  as  he  has  been  greatly  misrepre- 
sented. He  viewed  it  as  a  political  institution,  whose  existence 
began  before  the  Constitution  was  formed  and  was  recognized 
in  that  document.  The  framers  of  the  Constitution  considered 
slaves  as  property,  and  acknowledged  the  right  of  ownership  of 
them.  Consequently,  under  rights  of  property,  the  States  were 
bound  by  a  pledge  to  abstain  from  all  interference,  and  that  in 
the  District  of  Columbia  and  States  not  excluded  by  the  Mis- 
souri Compromise,  being  the  common  property  of  all  the  States, 
the  owner  of  slaves  was  entitled  to  the  safe  protection  of  his 
property  should  he  emigrate  there  with  his  slaves,  that  is,  on 
common  soil;  also  the  rights  of  property  should  be  protected. 
Slavery  was  defended  in  the  South  on  account  of  existing  con- 
ditions. Where  the  races,  almost  equal  in  number,  existed  side 
by  side,  one  must  always  be  subject  to  the  other..  Besides,  of 


Address  of  Mr.  Finley,  of  South  Carolina     151 

what  value,  he  asks,  were  political  rights  when  they  were  exer- 
cised, as  he  saw,  in  the  case  of  thousands  of  voters  in  the  North, 
who  were  under  the  domination  of  powerful  monopolies,  and 
were  forced  to  vote  according  to  dictation  ?  Mr.  CALHOUN  was 
active  on  all  important  questions  coming  before  the  Senate,  and 
took  a  prominent  part  in  all  debates,  making  several  very  note- 
worthy speeches. 

In  March,  1843,  Mr.  CALHOUN  resigned  his  place  in  the  Sen- 
ate and  retired  to  his  estate  at  Fort  Hill,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Pendleton  Court-House.  His  private  affairs  had  suffered 
greatly  from  his  protracted  absence  in  Washington,  and  he  was 
forced  to  give  them  his  attention. 

It  was  impossible  for  him,  however,  to  long  refrain  from 
active  participation  in  affairs,  so  when,  in  February  of  the  next 
year,  the  President  offered  him  the  position  of  Secretary  of 
State,  made  vacant  by  the  death  of  William  Upshur,  he  again 
entered  the  arena.  During  his  term  of  office  he  was  instru- 
mental in  securing  the  annexation  of  Texas  as  an  integral  part 
of  the  Union.  In  fact,  he  was  the  most  powerful  agent  in  secur- 
ing this  important  measure.  Upon  the  election  of  Mr.  Polk  he 
resigned  his  position  in  the  Cabinet,  as  he  was  not  in  entire 
accord  with  the  administration's  views  in  regard  to  the  Oregon 
difficulty.  He  was  offered  the  mission  to  England  by  Mr. 
Polk,  but  this  he  declined  and  again  retired  to  private  life. 
Here,  at  Fort  Hill,  he  enjoyed  a  short  rest  and  devoted  himself 
to  the  work  he  was  writing  on  political  economy.  It  has  been 
said  that  if  CALHOUN  had  devoted  his  life  to  authorship,  he 
would  have  been  one  of  the  most  original  and  philosophical 
writers  this  country  has  ever  produced.  To  show  the  esteem 
in  which  he  was  held,  in  1845,  when  he  made  a  journey  to 
Memphis  to  the  convention  for  the  purpose  of  considering  the 
development  of  the  natural  resources  of  the  South  and  West, 


152  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

his  progress  was  made  an  occasion  for  ovations  along  his  entire 
route,  and  his  reception,  even  in  Jackson's  own  country,  were 
equal  to  the  earlier  demonstrations  in  honor  of  the  old  general. 

He  was  not,  however,  to  be  allowed  to  remain  in  private  life. 
His  friends  thought  his  presence  in  Washington  necessary; 
accordingly,  upon  the  resignation  of  Judge  Huger  from  the 
Senate,  he  again  entered  that  august  body,  in  the  service  of  which 
he  was  destined  to  die.  He  was  immediately  plunged  into  ques- 
tions of  the  greatest  moment.  Polk  seemed  to  desire  a  war 
with  Mexico  and  was  intent  upon  precipitating  it.  At  the  same 
time  he  laid  claim  to  "all  Oregon"  and  forced  on  the  country 
a  most  alarming  situation.  We  could  ill  afford  a  war  with 
England,  and  never  with  England  and  Mexico  combined. 
Accordingly,  it  was  left  to  the  Senate  to  extricate  the  country 
from  this  dilemma,  and  CALHOUN  was  pushed  to  the  front.  He 
offered  resolutions  to  the  effect  that  contradictory  claims  to  the 
territory  might  be  settled  by  treaty.  Thus,  by  a  policy  of  "wise 
and  masterly  inactivity,"  he  sought  to  delay  events  until  the 
outcome  of  the  struggle  with  Mexico  could  be  seen.  Never  since 
the  days  of  his  early  career,  before  his  advocation  of  nullifica- 
tion, had  Mr.  CALHOUN  enjoyed  a  national  reputation  so  great 
or  his  views  held  in  such  reverence. 

He  was  the  preeminent  statesman  of  the  day,  and  to  him  the 
Nation  looked  for  deliverance  from  her  difficulties.  The  British 
minister  offered  to  make  the  forty-ninth  parallel  the  boundary 
of  the  disputed  territory,  and  the  compromise  was  accepted  by 
the  Senate,  which  had  been  left  solely  in  charge  of  the  treaty. 
On  March  16,  1846,  CALHOUN  made  his  great  speech  on  the 
treaty,  and  recommended  its  acceptance.  The  Senate  was 
crowded,  and  the  Senators  listened  eagerly  as  the  great  states- 
man spoke  his  message.  The  speech  advised  compromise,  and 
the  advice  was  followed.  The  forty-ninth  degree  of  latitude  was 


Address  of  Mr.  Finley,  of  South  Carolina     153 

accepted  as  the  northwest  boundary  of  the  disputed  Oregon 
Territory,  and  the  cry  of  "54,  40,  or  fight"  was  at  an  end. 

Its  termination  was  most  fortunate  for  this  country,  for  five 
days  after  the  negotiations  were  concluded  hostilities  broke  out 
with  Mexico,  and  this  would  have  given  a  different  turn  to  the 
situation.  Mr.  CALHOUN  was  opposed  to  the  war  with  Mexico, 
and  if  he  had  been  given  a  chance,  might  have  prevented  it.  He 
was  overwhelmed,  however,  by  popular  feeling,  and  the  war 
went  forward.  Had  he  followed  the  advice  of  his  friends,  and 
only  acquiesced  in  the  course  events  were  taking,  he  would  have 
remained  the  foremost  man  in  the  United  States,  and  perhaps 
triumphantly  ridden  into  the  presidency.  Such  a  thing,  how- 
ever, was  foreign  to  his  nature,  for  he  could  never  sacrifice  his 
convictions  of  what  seemed  to  him  to  be  right.  By  this  act 
he  threw  away  his  great  chance  to  satisfy  his  life's  ambition, 
and  the  fact  must  always  remain  a  monument  to  him,  greater 
than  the  office  could  ever  have  been. 

Soon  the  results  of  the  war,  which  CALHOUN  had  seen  to  be 
fatal  to  the  South,  were  apparent.  A  great  territory  was 
wrested  from  Mexico,  and  it  was  believed  that  the  administra- 
tion favored  the  annexation  of  the  whole  country.  In  January, 
1848,  CALHOUN  made  a  speech,  which  he  thought  put  an  end  to 
this  idea,  but  the  fact  remained  that  much  territory  had  been 
acquired,  and  some  disposition  had  to  be  made  of  it  as  regards 
slavery. 

Accordingly,  the  Wilmot  proviso  was  introduced  on  February 
19,  1847,  by  the  party  in  power,  providing  that  no  slavery  should 
exist  in  the  territory  recently  acquired  from  Mexico.  This  was 
what  CALHOUN  had  foreseen,  and  he  opposed  it  with  all  his 
might.  He  offered  a  set  of  resolutions,  which  provided  that 
Congress  had  no  right  to  legislate  to  the  discrimination  of  any 
of  the  States  of  the  Union,  or  to  deprive  any  citizen  emigrat- 


I54  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 

ing  to  the  new  States  of  the  right  of  property,  or  to  dispose  of 
conditions  before  the  States  in  question  should  be  admitted  to 
the  Union  and  given  a  voice  in  the  matter.  He  spoke  in  defense 
of  his  resolution,  and  gave  the  position  of  his  whole  career  in  a 
few  brief  sentences.  The  free  States  already  had  a  majority 
of  votes  in  the  electoral  college,  there  was  a  majority  in  the 
House,  and  the  Senate  was  evenly  divided.  Should  more  States 
be  formed  from  time  to  time,  and  all  of  them  free,  then  the 
balance  of  power  would  be  on  the  side  of  the  free  States.  Could 
they  be  intrusted  to  safeguard  the  rights  of  the  slave  States, 
who  were  in  the  minority  ?  Certainly  not,  and  a  course  would  be 
followed  that  would  be  ruinous  to  the  slave  States.  Eventu- 
ally, then,  in  the  nature  of  things,  the  South  would  withdraw 
from  a  union  of  so  little  advantage  to  her.  Sentiment  never 
yet  bound  together  a  nation.  There  must  be  advantages  accru- 
ing to  both  sections  or  civil  war  would  come.  This  was  CAL- 
HOUN'S  great  life  work— to  prevent  the  disruption  of  the  States 
and  to  preserve  the  Union.  To  do  this  he  contended  the  balance 
of  power  must  be  preserved.  Slavery,  as  an  institution  of  the 
South  and  a  form  of  property  guaranteed  by  the  Constitution, 
must  be  upheld  or  it  would  prove  the  rock  on  which  the  Union 
would  split.  The  last  years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  preaching 
this  doctrine.  He  was  the  almost  undisputed  leader  of  the 
South,  and  to  him  every  man  of  his  party  came  for  instructions 
as  to  a  great  master.  His  great  life  work  was  to  lead  his  people 
past  the  impending  doom  that  threatened  them  and  to  preserve 
an  unbroken  Union,  just  in  its  recognition  of  the  rights  of  all 
sections,  with  "equal  rights  to  all  and  special  privileges  to 
none."  His  health  was  fast  failing,  and  it  was  evident  that 
the  great  statesman  could  last  only  a  little  longer. 

In  January,  1850,  he  fell  ill  with  pneumonia,  and  grew  stead- 
ily worse.     On  February  18  he  was  in  his  place  once  more,  but 


Address  of  Mr.  Finley,  of  South  Carolina     155 

after  that  was  confined  to  his  rooms.  His  one  desire  was  to  go 
back  into  the  Senate,  if  for  only  an  hour.  He  had  one  last  speech 
to  deliver,  the  great  message  of  his  life,  and  he  could  not  die 
with  it  left  unsaid.  Accordingly,  on  the  4th  of  March,  he  was 
in  the  Chamber,  though  so  ill  that  he  was  obliged  to  act  on  his 
friends'  advice  and  to  give  his  speech  to  his  friend,  James  M. 
Mason,  of  Virginia,  to  read.  As  the  voice  of  the  Virginia  orator 
rang  out  over  the  Senate  Chamber,  CALHOUN  sat  with  features 
as  of  a  stone  image,  his  eyes  shining  with  the  intensity  of  his 
purpose. 

It  was  his  last  great  message  to  the  country,  and  was  awe- 
inspiring  in  the  accuracy  with  which  it  foretold  future  events. 
It  has  been  pronounced  by  eminent  critics,  and  of  a  disposition 
unfavorable  to  CALHOUN,  as  the  most  important  speech  made 
before  the  war  by  any  southern  leader  in  its  power  to  mold 
public  sentiment. 

He  began  by  reiterating  the  doctrine  that  he  had  preached  all 
his  life — the  Union  must  be  preserved,  and  to  save  it,  agitation  of 
the  slavery  question  must  cease.  The  South  must  be  allowed 
her  rights  of  property,  guaranteed  under  the  Constitution,  or  the 
question  will  end  in  disunion.  The  equilibrium  of  power  be- 
tween the  sections  must  be  preserved  and  the  South  given  an 
equal  share  in  the  voice  of  the  Government.  If  the  Union  is  to 
be  preserved  the  South  must  be  conceded  an  equal  share  in  the 
recently  acquired  territory,  the  agitation  of  the  slave  question 
must  stop,  and  an  amendment  made  to  the  Constitution  estab- 
lishing again  the  balance  of  power.  If  the  North  intended  to  do 
this,  let  her  say  so.  If  not,  let  the  States  depart  in  peace.  He 
ended  by  a  last  statement  of  his  position :  He  had  striven  always 
to  stop  the  agitation  of  slavery  and  save  the  Union;  if  this 
should  be  impossible,  then  his  efforts  would  be  to  save  the  South, 


156  Statue   of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 


where  he  lived,  and  upon  whose  side  was  justice  and  the  Con- 
stitution. 

Such  was  the  last  great  speech  of  the  great  leader.  He  spoke 
once  more  in  the  Senate,  on  the  /th  of  March,  in  reply  to 
Webster,  who  declared  that  the  Union  could  not  be  destroyed. 
CALHOUN  answered  that  it  could,  and  by  "great  moral  causes." 
This  was  his  last  appearance.  He  was  confined  to  his  room 
by  a  cough  and  by  racking  pains,  and  with  his  body  growing 
weaker  every  day. 

Not  so  his  mind,  for  he  was  in  the  full  possession  of  all  his 
mental  faculties,  and  his  massive  brain  was  as  vigorous  as  ever. 
He  busied  himself  to  the  last  with  public  affairs  and  his  papers. 
He  believed  that  the  South  and  the  Union  were  doomed  for  de- 
struction unless  he  saved  them,  and  he  clung  desperately  to 
every  moment  in  which  he  could  work  for  their  salvation. 
During  his  last  days  he  dictated  to  his  secretary  a  set  of  resolu- 
tions which  he  intended  introducing  to  the  Senate  as  the  ulti- 
matum of  the  South.  They  recited  that  the  Southern  States 
could  not  lawfully  be  deprived  of  equal  rights  in  the  territory 
acquired  from  Mexico  or  from  any  other  source ;  that  the  people 
of  a  Territory  had  no  right  to  form  a  constitution  and  a  State 
without  the  permission  of  Congress,  and  the  action  of  Cali- 
fornia was  consequently  void;  that  Congress  had  no  right  to 
give  validity  to  California's  constitution;  that  the  Wilmot 
Proviso  was  an  attempt  to  deprive  the  South  of  its  rights  by  a 
palpably  unconstitutional  method,  and  that  the  time  had  ar- 
rived when  the  Southern  States  owed  it  to  themselves  and  the 
other  States  of  the  Union  to  settle  forever  the  question  at  issue 
between  them. 

These  resolutions  were  merely  the  summing  up  of  CALHOUN'S 
views  on  the  whole  matter.  When  he  had  finished  their  dicta- 
tion he  wished  for  "one  time  more  to  speak  in  the  Senate.  I 


Address  of  Mr.  Finley,  of  South  Carolina     157 


can  do  more  than  on  any  past  occasion  in  my  life."  Still,  in 
dying,  his  last  thought  was  to  save  the  Union  and  how  to  do  it. 
He  never  wished  for  secession  so  long  as  there  was  any  way  to 
prevent  it.  To  the  last  his  mind  wrestled  with  the  problem. 
As  has  been  said :  "  It  was  a  Senator  rather  than  a  man  who  was 
dying."  His  thoughts  were  concentrated  on  the  country  to  the 
last,  and  with  his  mind  still  on  the  problem  he  passed  from  the 
sphere  of  earthly  action  into  eternity.  On  the  morning  of  the 
3ist  of  March,  1850,  the  great  statesman  breathed  his  last,  and 
the  long  battle  was  ended. 

Of  his  private  life  it  is  unnecessary  to  speak  other  than  to 
say  that  it  was  pure  and  blameless.  He  spent  forty  years  in  the 
public  service — as  a  member  of  the  general  assembly  of  South 
Carolina;  three  times  elected  to  Congress;  for  eight  years  Sec- 
retary of  War;  twice  elected  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States,  in  1824  and  1828;  United  States  Senator;  Secretary  of 
State  in  Tyler's  Cabinet;  and  after  that  United  States  Senator 
until  the  time  of  his  death.  During  these  four  decades  in  pub- 
lic service,  faithful  to  every  trust,  patriotic  in  every  fiber  of  his 
being,  devoted  to  the  Union,  but  believing  with  all  his  heart 
that  its  perpetuation  depended  upon  preserving  to  the  States 
their  rights  under  the  Constitution,  a  philosopher  and  states- 
man of  the  highest  order,  orator,  and  author,  he  served  the 
nation  and  his  State  faithfully  and  well  No  man  has  ever 
been  so  honored  by  South  Carolina  as  was  JOHN  CALDWELL 
CALHOUN,  the  State's  greatest  and  most  gifted  son.  From  1832 
to  the  time  of  his  death  the  people  of  South  Carolina  received 
his  counsel  and  followed  his  lead  implicitly.  As  true  as  they 
were  to  him  he  was  to  them  and  to  their  best  interest  as  he 
saw  it. 

When  he  passed  away  at  half -past  7  o'clock  Sabbath  morning, 
March  31,  1850,  the  highest  honors  were  paid  him  at  the  Capitol 


158          Statue  of  Hon.  John   C.  Calhoun 


of  the  Nation,  and  throughout  the  country  there  was  genuine 
and  sincere  regret  that  one  who  was  most  worthy  to  sit  in  the 
seats  of  the  mighty  was  no  more.  But  it  was  reserved  for  the 
people  of  his  native  State,  without  any  division,  to  do  honor  to 
his  memory  as  befit  those  who  loved  him  with  a  sincere  devo- 
tion and  whose  political  idol  he  was. 

These  honors  did  not  cease  when  his  body  was  consigned  to 
the  tomb.  The  women  of  South  Carolina,  whose  virtue  and 
patriotism  have  ever  been  the  chief  glory  of  the  State,  under- 
took the  work  of  erecting  to  him  a  monument  in  granite  and 
marble  that  would  bespeak  in  some  measure  South  Carolina's 
appreciation  and  pride  in  her  favorite  son.  On  the  26th  of 
April,  1887,  the  CALHOUN  monument  was  unveiled  at  Charleston, 
S.  C.,  in  the  presence  of  patriotic  thousands  and  hundreds  of 
distinguished  citizens  from  all  over  the  country.  The  monu- 
ment stands  more  than  50  feet  high,  and  cost  $60,000.  The 
oration  was  delivered  by  that  prince  of  orators,  L.  Q.  C.  Lamar. 
Nearly  sixty  years  have  elapsed  since  the  death  of  the  great 
states-rights  champion.  In  this  period  have  occurred  events 
of  the  first  moment  and  involving  the  very  existence  of  the 
Nation.  The  civil  war  occurred,  as  CALHOUN  predicted  might 
be;  the  slaves  were  freed,  given  the  franchise,  and  in  the  South 
placed  in  political  power,  as  CALHOUN  had  predicted  as  one  of 
the  possibilities  of  the  future.  This,  however,  was  for  only  a 
comparatively  short  period  of  time,  and  the  South  did  not  drop 
to  the  level  of  Haiti  or  Santo  Domingo,  as  CALHOUN  had  intimated 
might  be  the  case.  The  civil  war  is  a  matter  of  history.  One 
of  its  results  was  to  forever  set  at  rest  the  questions  of  nullifica- 
tion and  secession,  and  the  establishment  for  all  time  of  the 
doctrine  that  the  Union  is  indivisible  and  indestructible.  The 
bitter  and  sectional  passions  engendered  by  the  war  have 
almost  entirely  passed  away.  The  man  who  in  either  branch 


Address  of  Mr.  Finley,  of  South  Carolina     159 

of  the  American  Congress  to-day  would  undertake  to  make  a 
violent,  abusive,  and  sectional  speech  would  find  himself  soli- 
tary and  alone  engaged  in  a  vain  effort  to  revive  issues  which 
have  been  finally  buried.  The  time  is  and  will  be  when  the 
American  people  throughout  this  country  will  look  upon  the  par- 
ticipants in  that  great  struggle — North  and  South — \vith  a  com- 
mon pride  that  can  only  be  likened  to  and  compared  with  the 
pride  felt  by  the  English  people  for  those  who  participated  in 
the  wars  between  the  House  of  York  and  the  House  of  Lancaster, 
commonly  called  the  "war  of  the  roses."  A  nation  can  not  be 
great  unless  patriotism  abounds  and  a  common  sympathy  binds 
all  the  people  together.  The  war  with  Spain  demonstrates  con- 
clusively that  in  none  of  these  essentials  of  greatness  is  the 
United  States  wanting. 

The  statue  of  JOHN  CALDWELL  CALHOUN  stands  in  Statuary 
Hall,  the  old  Hall  of  Representatives,  the  scene  of  his  first 
efforts  and  labors  in  the  service  of  the  Nation,  placed  there  by 
the  State  of  South  Carolina,  and  none  more  worthy  than  he  to 
be  so  honored.  [Applause.] 


